Close your eyes. Ok, don’t because then you wouldn’t be able to read this very well would you? Think about your family though, all of them. Yes, even your cousin that nobody likes who keeps bringing that crazy drama causing girlfriend of his to all the family stuff.
What is your family like? Are they mostly quiet bookworm types? Do they like to get loud watch football and scream at the TV until the cops come by? Maybe they are primarily outdoorsmen and your family functions consists of people swapping stories about that big catfish they caught or deer they missed this past season? Probably, there are different individual families within your family as a whole who would fall into one or more of these categories.
What about you? We’ve often heard it said that a man is the sum of his parts. Well, it’s no secret that whether you are talking about your actual biological heritage, or familial connections that are not based on shared DNA, people have expectations about you based on your family.
If your dad was the all-star running back for the high school football team at some point you will begin to feel the pressure to take up the passion for pig-skin hijinks. Is your mother known to be a tireless volunteer or incredible artisan? It won’t be long before insinuations and requests for a similar performance waft your way.
Not only in the land of talent and triumph are we so often identified by our family, but the quality and character of our parentage often labels us early on as well. If your kin are known to be lazy, apathetic, or rude—chances are that people will expect something very much the same out of you. But should they?
Our culture faces identity crisis on a daily basis. People strive to fit in. They struggle to achieve popularity—more often than not giving into societies asinine conformities along the way.
What is it that identifies you? Are you the sum of a sequence of genetic code? Do chemical reactions and predetermined consequences create the sum of your existence? Or is there more?
Is your future limited to that of your parents? Are you bound to repeat their mistakes? Are you chained to their destiny, following blindly simply because they gave you life?
Don’t misread or misinterpret what I’m saying today. I am deeply grateful for my upbringing. I understand a little more every day how blessed I am with the family I have and the heritage that comes with it. But should that define me? Should I really be the sum of my parts?
I would dare to say that you have a choice. You can just let life make decisions for you. Allow familial history to direct your course in all things. Be a good Democrat/Republican because grandpa was. Go to church every Sunday because that’s how mom did it. Or . . . you can choose to plot the course of your life by standards neither your own nor your family’s.
“In his heart a man plans his course, but the Lord determines his steps.” Proverbs 16: 9 NIV
Don’t be limited by the boundaries we often force upon ourselves. Step into a life with God. He is limitless.
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