Re:Generation Sample

We’re all a Product of Someone

If I placed an apple in front you and argued that it appeared out of thin air you’d think I was crazy. Yet as a Pastor it amazes me when I ask people who are struggling in life, ‘Where does this struggle (fear, addiction, insecurity etc…) come from?’, just how rarely people can connect to the concept of their challenges being rooted in something.

You see apples don’t come out of thin air, apples grow on trees. Trees don’t magically appear, they take years to mature because they started as seeds. Seeds don’t miraculously make their own way into soil. Seeds are sown. Seeds take root.

Every part of your life; the way you think, react, feel, relate is the result of two things:

1. The seeds or root issues in your life. 
2. The consequential belief system, habits and behavior you’ve adopted or embraced as a result of them.

For example: 

Your dad left your family home, resulting in a break-down of trust after all ‘He should have been there for us’. So you forged a life of self-reliance which required you to hold people at arm's length. But that evolves to being judgemental of all people because after all ‘They’ll let you down in the end’. 

You view God like that so it’s almost impossible to really embrace faith and don’t get started on Church leaders, you couldn’t trust them as far as you could throw them.
All because a seed of rejection turned into a forest of lies about what God’s really like, the power of relationships and the purpose of being connected to a local church.

This process works in the opposite too. When seeds of life are sown, forests of faith, hope and love are grown. 

Paul speaks to the idea of sowing and reaping in the letter to the Galatians. What is sowed into us by others, we will reap, whether good or bad. But we are assured, that when we sow good seed into our lives we will reap a harvest of righteousness. 

Ultimately our upbringing and family environment is one of the most influential places seeds are sown and grown. So consider: 

- What are the most profound concepts you have about your upbringing?

- Were you safe? Could you rely on people?

- What was your relationship like with your parents?