Oct
6
2014
Our Spiritual DNA
Posted in Salvation 4 Comments
Even though you think you know someone, there is inevitably something new you learn.
Such was the case with one of my daughters.
We were out to breakfast and in the middle of a conversation, when I mentioned it.
I decided to have a small bowl of cereal with a banana.
I peeled the banana and proceeded to break off the end.
I sliced the rest on the top of my cereal.
She was watching me.
There are two things I never eat: the top of a banana and the point of a pickle, I said.
She laughed, not so much at me but with me.
I can’t explain it; I will eat the square end of a pickle slice but not the point.
I will always break off the little tip of the banana.
I searched her face as she continued to laugh.
Mom, that’s really strange, she said and I agreed.
No, not that you do it but that I do it, too!
We were at a conference and another friend was eating with us.
This is my sweet daughter, the one I know so well and yet I never knew that.
I know that she is the one who has her spaghetti without sauce.
I know that she is the one who likes broth-y soup and not creamy soup.
I know that she is not a fan of lasagna.
But taking the end off the banana and not eating the point of a pickle, I never knew.
Was it because she watched me all those years?
Was it just something we both found unappealing for no particular reason?
When we had a lunch break during the conference, this peculiarity came up as we talked.
Another couple at our table said that, perhaps it is just in the DNA.
They recounted stories about their grandson who lives in Europe.
That precious little boy eats his meat the same way his grandfather does.
There is a certain way he wants his meat cut with no amount of fat anywhere on his plate.
Healthy to be sure, and exactly the same as his grandfather who lives across the ocean.
Was this couple right?
Is it in the DNA?
Do we inherit certain traits and have no say in the matter?
What gets passed down from generation to generation?
Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, in our likeness, and let them rule over the fish in the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, and over all the creatures that move along the ground…God saw all that he had made, and it was very good. (Genesis 2:26,31)
We do carry around something very precious in our DNA: the image of God.
That image is undeniable, even if the person denies Him.
That image is imprinted deep inside us.
God’s law is written on our hearts.
…they show that the requirements of the law are written on their hearts, their consciences also bearing witness, and their thoughts now accusing, now even defending them. (Romans 2:15)
In our DNA we have the knowledge of God.
We carry around God’s law on our hearts.
Whether we want to admit it or not, it is undeniably there.
God’s law bears witness whether we obey it or not.
Also in our DNA is sin.
The sin of the first man, Adam.
Adam who represented the whole human race; Adam who blatantly disobeyed God.
Adam, who in his desire to be like God, failed to trust in God’s provision and promises.
We inherit that sin nature in our DNA as well.
I never taught my daughter to break off the end of a banana, but she still does.
I never mentioned that she should not eat the point of a pickle, yet she refuses to eat it.
How? Why?
Pickles and bananas are unimportant in the scheme of things.
We inherit or perhaps copy behavior which for some reason we continue.
We don’t even realize that we do.
It is innate and somewhat unexplainable.
However God has explained the sin nature we inherit.
For since death came through a man, the resurrection of the dead comes also through a man. For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive. (1 Corinthians 15:21,22)
We inherited our sin nature and consequently death from the first Adam.
We receive imputed righteousness and eternal life from the last Adam, Jesus Christ.
God the Father made a Way for us to have eternal life.
Despite the sin nature that is in our DNA, we can have eternal life in Christ.
Eating the end of a banana or the point of a pickle is nothing compared to dying in our sin.
God is a holy God and cannot be in the presence of sin.
When we really see God’s holiness and our sinfulness, we see the gravity of our condition.
God cannot look upon sin, yet we have a way back to Him through His Son, Jesus.
We do not deserve the imputed righteousness we receive when we trust in Jesus alone.
We have to realize that we will never change our sinful DNA on our own.
We cannot erase the genetic code of sin that we inherited from Adam.
Nothing we can do on our own can change our behavior.
Sin is innate; no one has to teach us how to sin.
We must come to the Cross of Christ in order to be saved and be healed.
Then we are made new.
A righteous DNA covers our sinful DNA.
The original genetic imprint is still there.
However, because of Jesus we are justified: just as if we never sinned.
Amen.
We are no longer slaves to sin.
God the Father sees us as righteous because of His Son, Jesus Christ.
Come to Jesus and trust in Him alone to cover your sinful DNA with His blood.
Great post Gina- we enjoyed spending time with you, your daughter and friend, having these kinds of conversations in spite of the booming background music at the restaurant!
Mimi,
We all have wonderful memories of the “Truth of the Cross” conference that we will carry with us for a long time.
So blessed to have shared it with you.
Gina
Amen, a great word to start off a Monday morning – thanks Gina!
Thank you, friend. I needed that word as well.
Gina