We can't control our genes but we can determine our unique spiritual DNA. Lord knows.
"...He did not turn away from the sins of Jeroboam son of Nebat, which he had caused Israel to commit." 2 Kings 15:18
We are now 16 kings into the Kingdom of Israel and still the character of the reigning king is measured and, in some respect, influenced by the character of that first King of Israel, Jeroboam. To separate himself from Judah, Jeroboam set up his own god for the people to worship -- two golden calves that he ironically proclaimed: "Here are your gods, O Israel, who brought you out of Egypt." [1 Kings 12:28] It's ironic because it was golden calf worship that kept a generation of the Jewish people from reaching the Promised Land. Of course, those people were all gone in Jeroboam's day and apparently history has never been people's strong suit. And so they/we are doomed to repeat it.
Which brings me to my point and how today's reading impacted me. It made me think. What am I doing now that will influence and, perhaps, damage and doom unborn generations of Eddys? I shutter at the prospect that the sins of the father may visit themselves on the son. I know I've benefited and been blessed by my father and grandfather's belief. My grandfather had little education except for the education God himself gave him through life and scripture and time spent together. I can't go back further with my religious DNA than my grandfather because he was left at the doorstep of a relative by his parents. Perhaps that tells me all I need to know.
My father and grandfather set a standard of diligence and respect for truth that I'm still blessed by today. What standards have I set for my own children? What is there takeaway from our lives together? What that I've given will they pass on to their own children?
I think and pray about this often. Lord knows.
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