“Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.” ESV

“Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.” NIV

My second-born son came into the world a little over 2 months ago. From the moment he arrived, it was undeniable…he looks just like me. Now I imagine for the rest of his life he’s gonna get “you look just like your dad”…and probably way more than he’ll like. 

Just like my son, we all inherit traits from our parents. Over time, whether we like it or not, we don’t just look like our parents, we tend to become like them too. (Cue the Progressive commercial: “We can’t prevent you from becoming your parents.”)

As a dad, there are things I want my boys to receive from me, things handed down from my father and his father before him. But there’s another inheritance too: generational sin. The stuff I’m praying stops with me.

When I begin to trace it back up the family tree, a lot of the not-so-good stuff has been passed down all the way from my Great Great…and a lot more “Greats” Grandpa Adam. 

Great-Grandpa Adam was created by God and actually walked with Him every single day…in complete peace. But eventually, he decided to go his own way, which broke the peace he had with God and started a generational line of disorder, chaos, and sin. 
Because of this, we are all born as sons of Adam rather than sons of God. 

But in the desire to restore peace and a relationship with us, the Father sent his only perfect Son down to our sinful and broken world to bring us back into his family. To adopt us as sons and daughters and make peace where we had broken it. Once again, becoming our Father, through rebirth. 

Those of us who enter the family as His kids will also adopt His character. We become more and more like Him. Just as He made peace with us, we become peace makers. Just like Christ, we look on that which is without peace and move towards it, and as people begin to notice, they’ll say, “You must be God’s kid.”

Because we, who were once children of Adam and the fall, are now sons and daughters of the King. Children of peace.

I want people to look at my life and say, “You look just like your Dad.” Do you?

Written by Blake Stanley