Our part in the family line means less than we think.
When John the Baptizer is scolding the religious leaders who come to him to be baptized, he makes a shocking claim. They can’t rest on their family line because God can replace them with stones.
I don’t think these are idle words or the hyperbole of an enraged prophet. They strike a very different and instructive chord. They are more the words of a man putting humanity in its place.
I’m reminded of God’s instructions to the first human in Genesis: to care for creation. Not enslave it or oppress it.
Our work is 100% relational.
As stewards, we protect all of creation, including its people. We don’t exploit or destroy, overlook or consume.
This is our job: to be in right relationship with God, each other, and creation. Or God will make someone else to do it for us.