Our Faith Family Tree

As the phrase goes, “I’m back at ya!” Thank you for allowing me to take a little time off from writing. It has allowed me some time to think about where I would like to go next in my devotional writings. Today is the launch of a new series that I’ve entitled Spiritual Genealogy.

Family genealogy is my wife’s hobby and with the aid of the Internet she has become quite the sleuth. She actually pays for services that are out there to help her research our family’s tree more fully. She is into it! Like all family trees we have some fruits and nuts in our’s! Most recently Deb has been working on my side of the family, my dad’s side to be exact. She discovered that my dad’s side is a lot of fun to research because so much of the family history is within a short drive of where we live.

We now know that my great-great-grandfather was married at the California Mission of San Miguel, which is just seven miles from our home. This same man played in a band that was a regular at the Fiestas held at Mission San Antonio about thirty-five miles from our home. My family tree goes back to the Salinan Indians that inhabited the land from Monterey to San Luis Obispo, California. In fact, our very home is sitting on land that once belonged to the Salinan tribe. No wonder I love living in Paso Robles!

So, you might be thinking, “Who cares?” That is exactly my point. Most likely the only ones interested in my family tree are my family members. The only ones who are interested in your family tree are your family. While I enjoy taking picnics out to Mission San Antonio where my ancestors were once baptized, none of our friends share the same excitement that our family does because it has little or no meaning to them.

Although our family trees may be different, we share a common Family of God tree. I call it our Spiritual Genealogy. We are all a part of God’s family and that family goes back millenniums. If we just want to follow our bond through Christ, then we can go back about two thousand years. Over the past two thousand years we have had a myriad of brothers and sisters who have left this physical world to be with Jesus Christ in the spiritual world. We should all be interested in our spiritual family tree even more than our physical one!

The author of the book of Hebrews reminded the early church of their Spiritual Genealogy. In chapter 11 we read what is often termed the “Hall of Faith” because the writer reminds us of those who walked by faith down through the ages. The entire chapter deals with these men and women and the lives they lived and the persecutions they endured. As we pick up the reading in verse 35 the writer says,

“Others were tortured and refused to be released, that might gain a better resurrection. Some faced jeers and flogging, while still others were chained and put in prison. They were stoned, they were sawed in two; they were put to death by the sword. They went about in sheepskins and goatskins, destitute, persecuted and mistreated-the world was not worthy of them”

The Israelites made it a point to always look back and remember their heritage and genealogy. There were certain holidays or feasts that were set aside to retell the stories of previous generations. The early church did the same thing in oral and written form. Today we have copies of manuscripts and writings that were used by the early church to encourage the living Christians to follow Christ like their earlier brothers and sisters. As chapter 11 ends in Hebrews, chapter 12 begins with, “Therefore since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us.”

By hearing or reading stories of past “faith-filled” people the new believers were inspired in faith, purity, and perseverance. I believe we have lost this tradition and gift and therefore our faith is not as strong and vibrant as it could be. We are always looking to the future for the next thing, but we don’t look to the past to be strengthened by it. John Piper calls this tendency “Chronological Snobbery” meaning we think the new is always better than the old.

“Chronological Snobbery” has thus become the motivation for my new series Spiritual Genealogy. I want to look back into the history of the church and see some of the men and women who to this day are examples of faith, purity and perseverance. For simplicity let me just refer to these brothers and sisters as saints. These saints came in all shapes, sizes and colors. Some were poor while others were rich. Some were educated while others lacked educational opportunities. Some lived long lives, although many of them were horribly killed because of their love for Jesus Christ.

Each week I will share a brief biography of a saint, a quote or thought from them, and then connect that quote or thought to a passage of Scripture. As always I will close by making a life application as the Holy Spirit leads. By studying the saints we can learn from them and be strengthened in our faith. At least that is my prayer. I think as we go along you will agree that we have some very interesting brothers and sisters that are waiting for us in glory!

God’s peace to you,

Dan

P.S. We are preparing to minister with our team in Rwanda this November. If you would like to know more about this ministry or partner with us please visit this link: http://www.firstgiving.com/carldawson

Copyright 2008 Eternity Minded Ministries