Family Of God- What’s Your Spiritual Genealogy?

We all have a family tree but if you are a Christian, you are part of the family of God, meaning you have a spiritual genealogy.

Family Trees & The Genealogy Of Jesus

Each of the four gospels begins differently. Each was addressed originally to a different audience. Matthew 1:1-17 records the genealogy of Jesus Christ all the way back to Abraham. God sent His Son as a Saviour for both Jews and Gentiles, but He did so through David’s line, and David was a descendant of Abraham.

Without this ancestry many of those among whom Jesus lived and those to whom He ministered would not have taken His teaching seriously. This made His genealogy crucial.

Exploring Our Genealogy

It was wonderful to visit Scotland in September. It is the homeland of my ancestors and my husband’s. In fact, we visited the Isle of Skye in the Hebrides and stood on the knoll where his ancestors either lived or at least battled.

On that hill overlooking the town of Portree stand three monuments to Clan McNickel.

And when we visited Stirling Castle, our daughter-in-law found a ship’s manifest listing those who may very well have been related to my husband.

Would it be interesting to further explore Dave’s genealogy and my own? Of course.
Would we find men and women to be admired and emulated? One would hope so.
Would we find those who were ruthless and violent? Almost certainly.
Would these discoveries change who we are or impact hundreds, even thousands, of people? I don’t believe so.

In many cultures, one’s nationality, though not their specific family ancestry, may affect how society sees that individual. In other cultures, even one’s family genealogy may be a factor, though I don’t have firsthand knowledge of life in such a society.

Learning About Your Family History

Just how can we learn about our family history while focusing on what is even more important? Here are a few suggestions of things to do with your children:

1. Help them create a family tree going back as far as you can.
2. Get in contact with the oldest living member of your family and arrange a visit and chat about their childhood memories and what they know about your family history.
3. Connect with family members you rarely, if ever, see. They are sure to have further information of interest.
4. Look through old photo albums, slides, newspaper clippings, etc. to get an idea of where your family came from.
5. If you are able to travel to your ancestral homeland and explore places of significance to your family, it can be a wonderful adventure.
6. Write about or create a pictorial account of what you’ve learned about your family.

Learning About Your Spiritual Genealogy- The Family Of God!

As Christians, even more important than our family ancestry is our spiritual genealogy. Have you told your sons and daughters how you came to saving faith in Jesus? Have you told them about the men and women, boys and girls who influenced you, both in person and through their writings? If one or more of these individuals are still alive, why not visit them and discuss the history of their own walk with Christ. See how far back you can go.

Help your children understand the similarities and differences between biological and spiritual ancestry. Discuss the following questions:

1. Where do our physical traits come from, our biological family or our spiritual family?
2. In what ways do our ancestors influence our family life? In what ways do our spiritual ancestors influence it?
3. What things that we can tie to our biological family change when we come to faith in Jesus Christ?
4. What things don’t change?
5. Is it more important to learn about our biological or spiritual ancestors? Why?
6. How are we going to keep learning and growing?

Are you part of the family of God? What is your spiritual genealogy? We would to hear from you. Comment below or contact us at HopeStreamRadio.