Devotional, (Date)

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Each week you will be able to read a devotional
thought which we hope you will find
enjoyable and comforting
as well as
insightful and challenging.

A little genealogical humor:

The following conversation was overheard at a party attended by high society people: "My ancestry goes all the way back to Alexander the
Great," said one lady. She then turned to a second lady and asked, "And how far does your family go back?" "I don't know," was the reply. "All of our records were lost in the Flood."

Genealogy: Tracing yourself back to better people.

I trace my family history so I will know who to blame.

Can a first cousin, once removed, return?

Searching for lost relatives? Win the lottery!

Do I even WANT ancestors?

Every family tree has some sap in it.

Friends come and go, but relatives tend to accumulate.

Genealogists never die, they just lose their roots.

Genealogy: A haystack full of needles. It's the threads I need.

Genealogy: Where you confuse the dead and irritate the living.

Heredity: Everyone believes in it until their children act like fools!

I think my family tree is a few branches short of full bloom.

Life is lived forwards, but understood backwards.

Theory of relativity: If you go back far enough, we're all related.

It's true -- if you go back far enough, we're all related. The concept of the "brotherhood of man" is a biblical concept. Despite the differences around the world, despite the different cultures, despite the different skin tones, we are all related. Paul said to the men of Athens:

"And He has made from one blood every nation of men to dwell on all the face of the earth, and has determined their preappointed times and the
boundaries of their dwellings, so that they should seek the Lord, in the hope that they might grope for Him and find Him, though He is not far from
each one of us; for in Him we live and move and have our being..." (Acts 17:26-28a).

Why would Paul make such a statement? Perhaps to say that if you trace your ancestry back only to the time of Abraham, you live in a divided world
because you are either a Jew or a Gentile. But, if you trace your ancestry back even further, we are once again united in the realization that we are
part of one human family, created by God to be in fellowship with Him.

Our realization of the brotherhood of man ultimately affects not only our relationship with one another, but our relationship with God as well.

Have a great week!

In Jesus' name, Amen.

This weeks thought and comments comes from Thought-for-the-day, a daily devotional which you can receive daily on line by subscribing at:

or send an E-mail to:

thought-for-the-day@eGroups.com

It is created by Alan Smith,
Boone Church of Christ,
Boone, NC