(Note: Due to the nature and depth of this post, I will use the established names for God, Jesus, the Bible, etc.)
The New Testament begins with the impressive lineage of
Jesus. It is filled with some of the "stars" of the Old Testament,
seemingly intending to establish Jesus' credentials as the Messiah.
However, there are troubling facts woven within this list.
Some of the information there is so egregious that if you knew what you were
reading the first time through (which you don’t since the Old Testament is
essentially the prequel to the New), you might be tempted, even justified, to shut
the book right then and never return.
Jesus' family history is corrupted by atrocious and
shameful acts, mainly of a sexual nature, but the worst being murder. Jesus'
lineage is dirty, messy, and scandalous. Not at all what you would expect from someone
put forth to be the savior of the world.
After rereading this passage recently, I was given pause
because my lineage is also unclean. I have previously detailed the scandalous
tryst of my paternal grandparents (Turkey Terror At My Door, Chapter 2).
However, a few months ago, randomly, out of nowhere, for no good reason, I
became aware of a salacious and probably criminal act in my family’s history.
How bad was this? Well, it would make an exceptional blog
post, except that the revelation would overshadow whatever I wrote after the
first paragraph. So, I will never write about it because it is too horrible,
and thus highly embarrassing.
After comparing what I know about my family history, with
Jesus’ ancestors, I have never felt closer to Jesus – the man. My lineage is
tarnished, just like his. I could imagine us hanging out, discussing this:
Me: Dude, your family was really messed up!
Jesus: Yours is too – and you don’t even know the half of
it!
My DNA is Messy
My DNA is dirty, corrupted, polluted, etc. I can’t fix it.
It is literally present in every fiber of my being. And the impact is more than
physical – because it’s in my brain matter, it impacts how I think and process
the world. I can’t wash this stink off or out of me. It permeates every breath
I take and every thought I have.
Unfortunately, your DNA is just as tarnished. If you could trace your lineage far back, at some point, you would find adulterers, murderers, thieves, rapists, perhaps even Nazis, or worse.
What About Jesus’ DNA?
Human DNA is incredibly complex. It is estimated there are
3.055 billion base pairs in the human genome. I’m not a genetic scientist –
neither do I play one on TV – but here is my layman’s theory on the DNA of
Jesus.
For Jesus to be fully functional – both physically and
mentally- he had to have human DNA. Therefore, I speculate that Jesus' DNA was
99.999% human and the rest something special. Some people will vehemently
disagree with this assertion, arguing that Jesus was fully man and fully God.
Relax, I will explain how both things can be true.
If we can agree that we all have souls, and all those souls
are unique, then somewhere buried deep in those 3.055 billion base pairs are
those minuscule strands that construct our soul – call it the Soul Zone.
When considering the Immaculate Conception, the focus tends
to go on the immaculate part, but what about the conception? The DNA from a
heavenly source had to contain all the human DNA necessary to produce a fully
functioning, healthy human being. However, I will speculate the heavenly DNA
was reengineered, replacing that Soul Zone with “holy base pairs”, which formed
the God Zone. You end up with human DNA with a God-based spirit. If you think
this idea is farfetched, genetic engineering on Earth has been ongoing since
1973. It is a cutting-edge field of study today.
How difficult is it to locate the Soul Zone in the 3.055
billion base pairs? It is impossible for man – thus far. However, as coders and
engineers can attest, if you built and designed the system, you know where
every element is located and how it functions. It would be a simple procedure
for God, who made the DNA, to remove the Soul Zone and replace it with the God
Zone. And there you have it – fully God yet fully man. What child is this,
indeed?
Can A Virgin Really Give Birth?
Is a virgin birth actually possible? Please, the first recorded
case of artificial insemination happened in 1790. In vitro fertilization has
been around since 1978. So, man is now fully capable of replicating a virgin
birth.
Of course, it is by faith we believe that the Holy Spirit
carried this genetically altered DNA and initialized the Immaculate Conception.
The result was the birth of a boy. A fully human creature yet was God in that
flesh.
But What of My Grimy DNA
Does my corrupted DNA define me? Am I destined to commit
the sins of my ancestors? Unfortunately, just as certain physical maladies are
passed down through your DNA, so are some propensities for imprudence. Thus,
the sins of the father are often the same sins of the children.
If our lives depended on that 99.999% of the DNA, we would
indeed be hopeless. But it is that small portion, the Soul Zone, which gives us
hope. We have control over the Soul Zone. And Jesus showed us what is possible when
we let elements of the God Zone into our Soul Zone. We can be renewed. We are
no longer a slave to our DNA – we can become related to God in some
inexplicable way by some indescribable gift. We do not have to follow the
tragic fate of our ancestors, we can have a new life, a better life – and have
it more abundantly. We call this change element faith. I contend that faith is
the most potent force in the universe because if you remove it, everything will
collapse.
Where Is Your Faith Located?
If faith is the force that can change your life, then it
must be located in the Soul Zone, somewhere in those 3.055 billion base pairs
of DNA. That would mean that your faith is incredibly minuscule – beyond
microscopic.
Which gives a whole new meaning to Matthew:17:20:
If you have the faith (the size) of a mustard
seed ….. – you can do some incredible things.
Merry Christmas!
