What If Your Cousin Was God

Can you imagine what it would be like to find out your relative is God? I can't either. If I found out that my cousin Hummer was some type of deity, I would fall out of my chair.

And, yes, I do have a cousin named "Hummer." Everyone calls him that. Well, except a few doctors. They call him "Mr. Salley."

I am suspicious there are three reasons a doctor will call you by your last name: 1) You are seriously ill, 2) He or she is going to perform a really uncomfortable (read "embarrassing") exam on you, or, 3) You are old. Proof positive: My father is 91 years old and his internist refers to him as "Mr. Roland" approximately 30 to 40 times every visit. 

Returning to the idea of finding out your relative is God, that is exactly what happened to John the Baptist. For years he knew about his relatives to the north. They may have met at family gatherings in Jerusalem. Because they were of similar ages, John might have even known Jesus' name - a name that was different, just like his own.

Then one day something changed. John recognized his shirt-tail relative as the One who was literally going to save the world. It must have been a shock to realize someone he had known all his life was actually God incarnate. It is not just Hummer, I would be surprised if any of my cousins - and I have a lot of them - turned out to be God.

What made the difference here? What did John see that he hadn't seen before?

In John 1:32 we read, "I saw the Spirit descending like a dove from heaven, and it remained on him." Later, in verse 34 he states, "I have both seen and testified that this man is the Chosen One of God."

"On the next day after the first day" of Jesus' public ministry, John realized the Holy Spirit was on his relative and identified Him as the Lamb of God. He was the same cousin. His physical appearance hadn't changed. The big difference was the evident presence of the Holy Spirit.

Every time I mention the Holy Spirit I know I am going to get in trouble. My conservative friends get uncomfortable and worry that I may raise my hands or something. Meanwhile, my Charismatic friends get worried that most of my friends are conservative. Truth be told, the Holy Spirit seems to create lots of uncomfortable conversations.

From my perspective, the Holy Spirit works in three different ways in the disciple's life. First, He actively assures us that our relationship with God is real. He confirms that we are children of God (Romans 8:15-16). Second, the Holy Spirit empowers the transformational aspect of the Christian experience. In 2 Thessalonians 2:13 we read, "... God chose you from the beginning for salvation through sanctification by the Spirit..." Third, there is a vocational aspect to the Spirit's work. His ministry of guidance is evident throughout the book of Acts - from Philip and the Ethiopian eunuch to Paul's later decisions in ministry.

I can explain this like I know what I am talking about, but it is more important for the Spirit's work to actually be evident in my life. If I am following so many rules that people identify me as a "religious person," I am not going to make a make a big impact in the world around me. There were lots of religious people in John's day. However, if I am full of the Spirit - full of the Spirit who has made me a child of God and continues to work in my life in a dynamic way - then, maybe, even my cousins will know there is something different about me. 

And, once your relatives can see there is something different about you, there might be a possibility of changing the world.