Children from Stones

Children from Stones

Luke 3:7 – So John said to the crowds that came out to be baptized by him, “You offspring of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath? 8 – Therefore produce fruit that proves your repentance, and don’t begin to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father.’ For I tell you that God can raise up children for Abraham from these stones! 9 – Even now the ax is laid at the root of these trees, and every tree that does not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire.”

John’s words cut deep. I was born into a Seventh-day Adventist family. My grandparents were Adventists. One of my grandfathers was a missionary pastor. Can I make the claim of escaping the coming wrath of God against sin because I’m connected to some great believers in my past? Does my family history exempt me from repentance or give me a free pass to salvation?

According to John – where’s the fruit that proves my repentance? Where’s the evidence that I’m actually a child of Abraham through faith, not through genetics? Where’s yours? Without the fruit the ax is ready to cut down the dead trees – yet God can raise children up from inanimate stones. You don’t have to possess an origin story of genetic connection. Even if you do, we still need God’s power to transform our lives.

With God each of us can have an origin story that begins now. Compared to God, we’re all as dense as stones. Yet God can easily raise us up as His children and heirs to salvation like Abraham.

Verse 10 – So the crowds were asking him, “What then should we do?” 11 – John answered them, “The person who has two tunics must share with the person who has none, and the person who has food must do likewise.” 12 – Tax collectors also came to be baptized, and they said to him, “Teacher, what should we do?” 13 – He told them, “Collect no more than you are required to.” 14 – Then some soldiers also asked him, “And as for us – what should we do?” He told them, “Take money from no one by violence or by false accusation, and be content with your pay.”

verse 16 – John answered them all, “I baptize you with water, but one more powerful than I am is coming – I am not worthy to untie the strap of his sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. 17 – His winnowing fork is in his hand to clean out his threshing floor and to gather the wheat into his storehouse, but the chaff he will burn up with inextinguishable fire.” 18 – And in this way, with many other exhortations, John proclaimed good news to the people.

This is really good news for all of us. If God can raise up stones to be His children He can surely raise us up to be His children too! May a new chapter of our life stories begin today with Jesus Christ who will fill us with His Holy Spirit in preparation for when we will be gathered together to be with Him forever when He returns.