https://odb.org/2023/08/11/who-am-i-5
Honestly, I don’t understand the fuss about having a famous father or mother. If your dad or mum is well-known, surely that will open doors and you get instant recognition as so and so’s son or daughter. How can that be a bad thing? Sure, you live in the shadow of your famous parent, but if you are really outstanding, you will eventually be your own man or woman – see, for example, Michael Douglas or Dakota Johnson. Even in our part of the world, we have our very own Shareen Mary Vallabouy, the currently famous daughter of Samson Vallabuoy and Josephine Mary. Or the infamous ex-PM Najib carrying on the legacy of his father, Tun Razak, another ex-PM. In fact, in politics, it is common for sons to emulate their parents like Lim Guan Eng and Lim Kit Siang or Lee Hsien Loong and Lee Kuan Yew. Or Mukhriz, not doing as well to follow after the gigantic footsteps of Tun Dr M.
Perhaps the frustration lies in people not seeing us but seeing our famous father in us. Or worse, they overlook our personal contributions or efforts and only see our father’s. Thus, we feel that we are not appreciated in our own right.
The good news is that God looks at us as who we are and not who our father or mother was. We are personally accountable for our own actions. Our salvation is in our own hands. Jesus died for our sins personally for us, not on the account of or because of our parents or grandparents. No matter who our ancestors are, what counts is our personal confession and conviction of accepting Jesus Christ as our Lord and Saviour, our repentance of our sins and our quest to live out God’s plans and purposes for our own lives. Everything in our faith is personal to us. Although our legacy may have a positive impact on our children and our children’s children, we can not carry any of their souls into eternity with us no matter how much we love them or how much we try. That’s their personal decision, choice, and quest. Salvation is by the grace of God, yet it is grace that is personal to them.
Corollary to that, the “famous father syndrome” doesn’t quite exist in the spiritual realm. Maybe as the son of King David, we will be expected to inherit some of his good traits. But God still looks and relates to us as who we are, whether we are who He meant us to be. Not who our father or grandfather were. The only shadow we should know is that of our Heavenly Father, and that is a shadow we want to remain within as He is the Almighty God, the creator of the world and the universe and everything in it, whether in earth or in heaven.
Ronnie's Thoughts 