“20 The person who sins is the one who will die. The child will not be punished for the parent’s sins, and the parent will not be punished for the child’s sins. Righteous people will be rewarded for their own righteous behavior, and wicked people will be punished for their own wickedness.”
In all the Godfather movies, one’s loyalty lies with the Godfather. Their lives and protection are because of the Godfather. Conversely, if the characters were not under the Godfather and his protection, well then, he was going to make them an offer they couldn’t refuse. We can identify ourselves by the company we work for or by our family’s last name. Anyway you slice the deck, we are someone’s child, and we all have a boss and have to answer to someone else.
Your Christian walk, however, could not be farther from the Godfather way of looking at life. You are your father’s son or your mother’s daughter for sure, but that should not define your life. In fact, many of us in today’s society blame our shortcomings on our surroundings or our upbringing. We say, “Well, he came from an abusive home,” or “She was mistreated by her father,” to somehow put their actions under a light of understanding. While all that might be true, and we should be conscious of our past, we cannot be defined by our past.
We also cannot be defined by our parents or home environment. Ezekiel is writing down a message from the Lord here in chapter 18. The title of the chapter is “The one who sins will die.” Kind of harsh, yes, but so true. You do not have to go around blaming your life on your parents or how you were brought up. It is clear here that the Lord is making a distinct point to tell us that your life is in your control, spiritually.
Today is the day you can stand up and start walking to the beat of your own drum. We don’t get to heaven grabbing onto mommy’s skirt, and you don’t have to live your life sinning just because of where you came from. We are all called to be followers of Jesus, not just hearers, but doers. Acting on the Word of God means applying it to your life, living out its principles, and letting the Lord lead you into all righteousness.
How does He do that, you might ask? By reading the Word of God every day and doing what it says. The Godfather’s way of looking at life gives all of us a profile that limits us and our walk with the Lord. We are called children of God, not grandchildren! We are all sons and daughters of the King. Today is the day you break from your past and start a new life with Christ at the center. Let Him become your landlord, and stop putting Him in just one room of your life. Pick up your cross and follow Him.
Prayer: Father, we break off the generational ties and lies the enemy has blinded us with in Jesus’ name. We speak life and health to our mind, body, and soul in Jesus’ name. We rebuke the devil and all his assignments on our lives, and we cast him out and send all his demons to the abyss in Jesus’ name. We are no longer hounded by our past, rather, we look forward to a life with Jesus at the center, a life filled with the blessings of the Lord and a life marked by peace. I pray Psalm 1 over everyone right now so that they will be like a tree planted by streams of living water, yielding fruit in season, with leaves that never wither. In Jesus’ name, amen.
Let It Go 
Leave a comment