Millions of people are fascinated with their genealogy, and many spend a substantial amount of time and effort tracing their heritage back to earlier ancestors. A member of my family assembled a family tree that went back several generations and sent it around to family members. It was interesting to look at the names of my ancestors and learn a bit of history about where they lived and when they migrated from Europe to America.
But a while back, after mentally picturing myself on the family tree, I suddenly revolted at the idea. I thought, “I’m not on that family tree. I did not descend from mortal ancestors. I am a child of God, born of Spirit!” I realized that my “family tree,” could never be found in a mortal ancestry. Man is not born of a mortal. Man is born of God. I could not learn anything about myself as a child of God, the offspring of Spirit, from studying a mortal ancestry.
As I pondered this insight more, I saw that if we accept a mortal ancestry as our heritage, we are also liable to accept shortcomings and diseases from those ancestors handed down to us. “My father had a short temper, so I have a short temper. My grandmother had heart disease, so I have heart disease,” and so on, are all symptoms of buying into the belief system of inheriting a mortal past.
From a mortal point of view, mortals have ancestors. But from a spiritual point of view, man is an immortal born of God with a pure spiritual heritage. For the sake of success in spiritual healing, our spiritual heritage from God is the only one to claim.
God is man’s Father-Mother, the one and only creator, sustainer, maintainer and health determiner.
Man does not evolve from man over time. Man is the reflection of God.
With God, there is no family tree. There is perfect God, and perfect man reflecting God’s presence here and now.
“In Science man is the offspring of Spirit. The beautiful, good, and pure constitute his ancestry. His origin is not, like that of mortals, in brute instinct, nor does he pass through material conditions prior to reaching intelligence. Spirit is his primitive and ultimate source of being; God is his Father, and Life is the law of his being” Science and Health, p. 63.”
Evan thank you for this powerful message today. Knowing my love of history, friends have often urged me to check out my family tree, and although I would find it interesting I have resisted doing this feeling uncomfortable about it. Having read your blog today I know I have been right to resist doing it and I am so grateful for all your comments today.
I also meant to say how well this fits in with this week’s Bible Lesson ‘Adam and Fallen Man’. You are always right on the ball with your messages!
Hey Evan! Yes, we do have a family tree! it’s in revelation and is called “The Tree of Life”!
And “the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations”. I like to see the trunk of the tree as the source of all good, God, the branches as the idea that “Man is tributary to God, Spirit and to nothing else” (MBE) The leaves as God’s ideas , the fruit as the healing / fruition.
Great post Evan, and like Diane, I’m always amazed at the “coincidence” of your timing — God’s timing — in regards to the topic and it’s applicability. Today’s Daily Lift by Sandy Sandburg is about “healing genetic defects.”. Just another piece of evidence that there is only one Mind at work here! Love the content on this blog and the comments too. I read them all every day! Love to all!
Oh, how utterly comforting what you wrote today; thank you very much Evan!
I love that passage from Science and Health mentioned above. It shows us very clear where we come from and to whom we belong. As offspring of Spirit, divine Love we can only express all the qualities, God bestowed upon us. I mention this because my grandmother had mental problems in advanced years, and she commited suicide. In former times I often made clear to me, that that has nothing to do with me, because I learnt that I am not coming from this mortal history but o n l y from our loving Father-Mother God as a spiritual idea! I cannot be grateful enough that God brought me to Christian Science!
Dear Evan, I thought your ancestors came from Europe, because your second name is, I would say, German.
Thank you all for the comments, and also for the still coming comments – Love to all!
Yes, my last name is very German! My mom was Danish though.
Dear Evan,
AMEN
Good morning dear Evan and group. What interesting topic today
“It ruins any material theory … because our material ancestors suffered some unpleasant circumstance (bad health, poverty, bad habits etc) … I have destiny marked … and I will suffer … such a thing”. Do not!! is the answer!!! None of this knows God. That’s why I love what Diane said about “the Tree of Life” and see the trunk and roots as God and its synonyms, the branches as his children (spiritual ideas) and the leaves or fruits such as health, intelligence, patience, good humor , etc.) So Dear Uta, we should not worry. Because of what happened to your grandmother, you have nothing to do with her material heritage. We are individual, unique ideas that we only have Eternal Harmony. Excelent day for everyone. Thank you.
Dear Gustavo, thank you for your comforting words.
Just want to clarfy that I am not worrying because I know that my grandmother did not really have such problems, as it did not belong to her because she was all the time also God`s loved idea. And in Science she is living, moving and breathing in her divine source, divine Love.
I have no interest in my human genealogy (other family members do) and now I know why! 🙂 I prefer to trace my genealogy to my Creator, God. And claim my inheritance as His/Her daughter.:-)
Just before reading this blog entry, I was reviewing the last few pages of the chapter on marriage in Science and Health. This sentence on page 69 was puzzling at first: “Spiritually to understand that there is but one creator, God, unfolds all creation, confirms the Scriptures, brings the sweet assurance of no parting, no pain, and of man deathless and perfect and eternal.” Why no parting, no pain? Then the thought came, because the loved ones are in fact always present. And that is how I think of the ancestors, feeling a great love for them, appreciating their struggles and human journeys and knowing that they are vibrantly alive in God’s ever presence. In our families we have details back to the 1600’s, but I even think back to prehistoric man, how Spirit has always embraced mankind and been in some way discerned in every era. So we can see genealogy in the context of mankind’s evolving spiritual awareness, as Mrs. Eddy says, “through many generations” rather than accepting the popular beliefs that we are somehow limited by the details our ancestors experienced. Love to all, thank you for sharing your thoughts.
Linda, thanks so much for sharing this quote! It’s just what I needed to hear. This Sunday will be the first Mother’s Day since Mom passed on, and I’ve been a little worried that it will be difficult. The reminder that we can never be parted is a wonderful reassurance! I don’t have to be distressed about her absence, because she is always with me.
I prefere to “Grace” myself not “trace” myself. How limiting! Thank you Evan, again and thank you all for your truthful comments, I love to come here daily and be spiritually uplifted!
A few of us did the ancestry DNA test. I found out things I knew, no surprises. what I did find fascinating was documents, with pictures, such as draft notices. I had never really seen young pictures of my grandparents. A few census documents showed me old addresses where my Dad grew up that I had never heard of. My grandfather at 66 years old was in the WWII ‘Old Man’ draft.
But I think it is a rocky road to get into it because you can’t escape how it confirms you as a mortal. I guess it would depend on what you are looking for.
Your blog, Evan, and all of the comments are very interesting and appreciated. My mother was a Clark, whose ancestry has been traced to the Clark famous explorer of the Lewis and Clark expedition. As the time of this discovery, it gave me a sense of pride that one of my ancestors had accomplished something amazing. However, other than interesting, this has no bearing on me or my ability or lack of ability to accomplish anything. My only true source is God and his infinitude. How grateful I am to know God as my Father and Mother!
Dear Evan, I love what you said about genealogy. My sister loves it, so she often shares stories and pictures she’s found. I have learned to enjoy her stories, being very clear that God has given us “no dangerous inheritances” or medical histories because “He addeth no sorrow with it.” When I am occasionally told that someone died of —-, I correct that thought to know that their body may have died of their belief in —- but they didn’t die, and I certainly do not have that belief. As always, I am so grateful to know the Truth as taught in Christian Science!
Loved today’s blog. I guess I’m not that curious or I probably would have studied genealogy . It would be fun to see if anyone in my history was famous
Or had done anything special . But like heredity you don’t want to identify with mortal man. Claim your spiritual identity and be free!