November 25th, 2019

Galatians 4:7 So you are no longer a slave, but God's child;
and since you are his child, God has made you also an heir.
 
 
Hello and Merry Christmas from beautiful Virginia.  We have an ancestry.com account and I have dubbed myself the family historian.  A few years ago, I traced my mom’s father’s side, the Dingmans, back 14 generations to Holland.  It was great fun.  This fall I decided to follow my mom’s mother’s side, the Winchesters.  What discoveries I made.  It seems that the Winchesters are filled with kings, queens, the Tudors, Bishops, Kings of Wessex and the Visigoths, and Emperors.  Alfred the Great and the present Royal Family are in our line. Now I am in the Frankish/Roman period (the 500’s A.D.) and still going.  My patient husband, Darren, listens as I tell him everyday what new ancestors I’ve discovered and try to relay their tales of greatness. It is great fun but I remember that my past is completely random to me ---- that is, I have no control who my ancestors are.  I really can’t take credit for their accomplishments; I can only admire them. I thought about this, how as a Christian, when we are saved under Christ’s blood, we take on His royal line, His riches, we become “co-heirs” in His kingdom.  And we can’t take one bit of credit.  It’s all the Savior’s grace and favor to us. I realize that Heaven will be the converse of ancestry.com ---- instead of looking back, we will forever move forward learning about Christ and all that He has to give us.  This will be my new contemplation as I look at the manger this year. 

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