Knowing the Gardener (Part 4)

The Gardener Adopts

I received my ancestry.com DNA results last week. The kit was a gift from my son, who knew I was foggy about my heritage. I also wanted to know beyond a shadow of a doubt that I was my father’s daughter.

My dad died two months before I was born, and eight years after he passed, my paternal grandmother also passed away. There was a sizeable inheritance to divide up, and I was cut out. Why? Because paternal family members questioned whether I was my father’s child.

I always knew I was my dad’s daughter. I had the same coloring as him, was built like him, and seem to be wired like him. During my sportscasting days, people who knew my father would watch me on television, put two and two together, then write letters, sharing their memories of my doctor dad. However, because of what happened after my grandmother died, there was a slight element of uncertainty. Because my father was Jewish, I knew DNA would prove my relation to him, beyond a shadow of a doubt.

As I clicked on the results, I prayed, Lord, help me accept whatever is here.

Great Britain: 41%. What? I knew my maternal grandfather was English, but with that percentage, I realized there must be another Brit in the family tree. No wonder I have such a quirky sense of humor!

Then as my eyes scrolled down to the next highest percentage, I breathed a sigh of relief.

European Jew: 33%.

I am my father’s child.

Thank you Lord, for this confirmation.

I don’t need a DNA test to prove I am also my heavenly Father’s child. Since I rededicated my life to Him, there has never been any doubt about that.

When we become Christians, the Bible confirms that the heavenly Gardener adopts us. He becomes the dad we never had. Maybe your father didn’t die, but perhaps he was absent, abusive, or unloving.

Psalm 68:5 says, “A father to the fatherless, a defender of widows, is God in his holy dwelling.”

Another great verse is John 1:12-13: “Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of GOD—children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God.”

No matter how you got to this Earth, if you have given your life to the Father, he becomes your papa, and he invites you into a new family. He says,

“I wont disappoint you.”

“I want to nurture you.”

“I’m here to listen to you.”

“I desire to provide for you.”

All he asks is that we stay connected to him, attached to the vine through his Son, Jesus Christ. Without that, we won’t get the nourishment we need or the spiritual growth.

Have you ever been adopted by God?

If not, it’s easy. Just believe in Him and His Son, Jesus Christ. Repent of any wrongdoing in your life and ask Jesus, who bridges the gap between a Perfect and Holy Father and us, to take control of your life. Your heavenly Father will then sign the adoption papers, and place His Holy Seal on them, making you His child forever.

God is the only Father I ever knew. I am His child and I know that beyond a shadow of a doubt. What about you?