Published on 03/6/2007

Commentary

It's nice to know I'm not alone in this world. "Denison" is probably Scottish, but it may be Irish or English, I've been told all my life. Now it appears that it's all of the above.

According to today's New York Times, my family may be part of a much larger family than we thought. Geneticists who have studied DNA throughout the British Isles are struck by overall genetic similarities. Some are claiming that both Britain and Ireland have been inhabited for many thousands of years by a single people who remained in the majority. Celts, Anglo-Saxons, Vikings, and Romans all came much later, and did not displace the population they found. The Norman invasion of 1066 brought no more than 10,000 people to the islands. Or so one theory goes.

The idea that my ancestors are descended from your ancestors goes back further than today's news, of course. You may remember that in 1987 a biochemist proposed that all living human beings had inherited part of their DNA from a single woman. He determined that she lived in Africa about 200,000 years ago. A 1995 study examined a different part of the DNA and determined that we are descended from a common ancestor around 270,000 years ago. Not all geneticists agree, and the debate continues.

The Bible is not surprised by these findings. According to Genesis 3:20, "Adam named his wife Eve, because she would become the mother of all the living." You and I come from a single set of parents. And from another set as well: only Noah and his immediate family survived the Flood, so that all of us swam in his gene pool. No matter how they look or talk, the next people you see this morning are your brothers and sisters.

We are all one family, because we all have one Father. One of the most subversive, revolutionary statements in all the word of God is found in Galatians 3: "You are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus, for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise" (vs. 26-29).

Two facts result. One: we should treat each other like family, because we are. You probably relate differently to your sister than to a stranger. Now we know that the latter doesn't really exist. Two: we are never alone. Our Dad is the God of the universe. You're sitting in his chair, looking at his computer. As he is looking at you. He loves you, and likes you. You're the child of the King. Now, what's your problem today?