Chaplains Corner: ‘Who Do You Think You Are’

The ‘Who Do You Think You Are’ programme on the BBC has inspired my wife and I to investigate our family history. We have traced records that go back to the days before the English Civil War. In that period, I’ve found relatives who owned land in Derbyshire and were members of the aristocracy. One other distant relative was a Lord Mayor of London and another a clergyman. However, most of my relatives were living at the other end of the social spectrum; there’s a travelling salesman, a driver of a horse-drawn delivery vehicle, and someone imprisoned for theft!

Knowing who you are and where you are from feels important to many of us. It’s as if we have a better sense of self by finding our place in the family line and feeling a bond to past relatives. This connection may only be through the simplest written record, but it still feels significant. Even better though to be able to trace a tombstone, ancestral home or some other significant object as that really can make them come alive. What would it be like to be in my ancestor’s shoes? How did they live and overcome the challenges they faced? The information I have found is but a mere fragment for most lives, and for some there’s no record about them at all. It is sobering to think that one day after death there will be a time when there’s nothing to mark our passage through this life, but I am reassured that there is One who knows all and doesn’t ever forget.

One of my favourite psalms explains how God knew us before we were born and has laid a plan for our lives. “You watched me …as I was woven together in the dark of the womb. You saw me before I was born. Every day of my life was recorded in your book. Every moment was laid out before a single day had passed. (Psalm 139)”. I hope you find it reassuring to know that God knows you, watches over you and has a plan set out for your life.

As I look back on my ancestors it is easy to think the aristocrat is more important than the driver, but the Bible shows me that God values us all equally.

Being a detective on the ‘who do you think you are’ ancestor trail has been interesting. But I think my original desire to understand ‘who do I think I am’ through a relationship with Jesus Christ has been far more significant. In the Bible I’ve discovered so much about how we humans tick and about how good God really is. Have you made this discovery yet?