Daily
Devotional

There used to be a familiar adage that said, “blood will tell.” This saying meant that if you came from a good family background, you would be a good person. Conversely, if you came from an unsavory lineage, you would not be a very nice person. The indication was that one did not have much control over one’s actions; the power of ancestral traits could not be overcome.

My sister and I have been reading a book about the Scotch-Irish, who were part of my father’s ancestry. While reading the book, we were somewhat amused and then a little astounded! Many decades after the Scotch-Irish came to America and settled in southern states, our dad still had some of their common traits. One ancestor owned a sawmill and was familiar with lumber; my grandfather, father, and two brothers have all been builders. Many of the ancestors never wanted to settle down in one area and stay there the rest of their lives; my dad was just that way, and I, too, occasionally find myself hankering to “pick up and move.” My dad also enjoyed traditional music. He was a fiddler and played the songs you would hear in the hill country of the southern United States.

My dad had many things in common with his ancestors, but one thing that made a distinct change in his life was the day he gave his life to Jesus. The sinful habits he had picked up from ancestors and elsewhere, such as drinking, were removed from his life in a moment of time. The Blood of Jesus had a greater effect on his life than the blood of his ancestors.

For whatever reason, sinful habits often do show up in successive generations within families. Yet, there is no sinful trait so strong—not even one that has carried on for generations—that it cannot be overcome by Jesus. The Blood of Jesus is more powerful than the blood of ancestors, and it cleanses us from all sin.

When we become Christians, we join the family of God, and we begin showing the traits of our Heavenly Father. For us, then, the saying is true. If we are Christians, the Blood will tell.