Have you ever been mistaken for someone else? I think most of us have. There was a church I used to attend and people would always confuse me as being a member of another family. Apparently, some of my features were similar to the members of that other family. In truth, there were some similarities, but I look a lot more like MY parents and MY siblings than theirs. My nieces and nephews carry similar traits: they look like they belong to my family. I’m sure this isn’t earth-shattering news to anyone reading this post. So, you might be saying to yourself, “Hey, buddy, it’s called genes!” Well, you’re right. Genes dictate a lot. If someone in your family was really tall, you might be really tall as well. If people in your family lived to be 100 or more, you may be blessed with an equally long life.

But, let’s take it a bit further and go beyond genetics. It’s often the case that children follow in their parents’ footsteps when it comes to professions and behaviors. Some families have a long history of serving in the military, medicine, law, and other professions. Following in the footsteps of a parent can be a good thing. You can sometimes trace physicians through several generations in one family. It can be a source of pride.

The things I mentioned above are wonderful, but they are all on the physical plane. However,  just like the physical genetics, we as Christians should look to our spiritual genes. Can people recognize the God in you? It should be as easy as someone recognizing that I look like my brother, mother, or nephew. We were reborn into a new family when we were baptized into Christ. Some were reborn long ago, and others only recently. But no matter when you were reborn, we should all have the same spiritual genes: we should bear similar fruit.

1^st Corinthians 13:4-6 states the following:

Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 5 It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. 6 Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. 7 It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.

It’s a tall order, I know. Looking at it challenges me to rethink some of my decisions (past and current). However, it is what God has shown toward us. If we believe that our Father is a builder, can we take joy in destruction? If we believe He is a healer, can we take pride in doing harm to others? If we believe that He is love, can we embody hate? This doesn’t mean that we won’t sometimes slip up from time to time. That’s human nature. With repentance, we are washed clean. However, it’s always good to do a self examination. Ask yourself “What family do others think I belong to?”