Reborn There

(by Lorie Codispoti)

Most of us have a birth certificate. It verifies who we are and is needed for things like a passport and a driver’s license. It includes our name, gender, time and date of birth, parent’s information, and birthplace.

However, if you’re doing any kind of genealogical research, they say that birth records are not the place to start. Why? Well, before 1946 it was not the state, but the local church that recorded the births (and deaths) in their communities. And for a variety of reasons, not every birth was registered. According to History.com, “If a child did not live to be baptized, was enslaved or moved from place to place, its birth might not be recorded at all—or its memory might live on only in a family Bible or its mother’s memory.”

Isn’t that sad? A human life. An eternal being. Erased from history because there was never a record of the fact that they were valued and born with a created purpose.

There are important genealogies in both the Old and New Testaments. The average reader may choose to skip over these sections, but they exist for more than simply challenging your pronunciation skills. (Can you say Mahershalalhashbaz?)

The begats are recorded for several important reasons: 1) They help to substantiate the historicity of the Bible. These were real people, and the records verify their existence. 2) They confirm prophecy; specifically, that the Messiah would come from the line of David. (Scripture records 4,000 years of Jesus’ ancestry.) 3) They speak of God’s divine purposes - like the fact that He used both the reputable and those with sketchy reps in Jesus lineage to communicate that everyone is redeemable, and that no human can thwart His plan of redemption for mankind.

“Modern genealogy is primarily reserved for hobbyists. In contrast, genealogies were a deeply integral part of Jewish society at the time of Jesus. Land was inherited based on family lines, and those who could not prove their ancestry in Israel were considered outsiders.” (Erik Lutz)

To think that most Americans cannot trace their lineage beyond their grandparents is lamentable for many reasons. The greatest melting pot in the world and not only have we lost some very interesting characters, but their stories have followed them into the great unknown.

I am thankful for the little I know of my heritage. I had the privilege of knowing all my grandparents, and most of my great-grandparents. I loved hearing their stories, especially the ones connected to another relative. But, it wasn’t until one of my sisters became interested in our ancestry that I learned much more. Thanks to her efforts I can link myself to some interesting people, like Henry VIII, Booker T. Washington, Jesse James, and Bonnie Parker. (I do hope she can unearth a few more good guys, but I want to know about all of them - the good, the bad, and the ugly - because it reveals the hand of God and His transformative work in my life.)

What have we lost as a result of not knowing who came before us? Might Hitler have thought differently if he knew he had both Jewish and African ancestors? Might Barrack Obama and George W. Bush find more common ground if they knew they were distant cousins? Might Meghan Markle be persuaded to return to Europe since her pedigree includes Winston Churchill and William Shakespeare? Who knows!

While many recorded births have regrettably been lost to the abyss of the unknown and are long forgotten, there is a book that records every person born into the Kingdom of God. Throughout the ages, this undeniable, undisputed record has carefully recorded all who have surrendered to the lordship of King Jesus.

Jesus said, “He who overcomes shall be clothed in white garments, and I will not blot out his name from the Book of Life; but I will confess his name before My Father and before His angels.” (Rev.3:5)

Psalm 87 mentions the glories of God’s city to come. Verse six says, “The Lord will record, when He registers the peoples: ‘This one was born there.’”

In our world, searching for a birth certificate may not be the place to start, but in the Kingdom of God, a record of your re-birth is the first thing consulted.

Might your life look different if your name was recorded in His Book? Might your relationships look different if you were found to be related to the King of Kings?

I have two birth certificates. How many do you have?