On Monday, a woman’s life absolutely changed for good right there on television. If you missed it, Patricia Lee, who has had a rough life and has been down on her luck for most of it just found out that she’s related to Oprah Winfrey. Whoa. It turns out that when Oprah was nine years old and living with her dad, her mother got pregnant and kept it a secret from Oprah. She then gave the baby up for adoption. The adopted baby girl, named Patricia, grew up wondering who her birth mother was but never could find out. One day she was watching Oprah’s show and Oprah was interviewing her mother, Vernita. Patricia knew it was her mom. Somehow, she could just tell; and after trying to figure out the truth for years, she finally tracked down one of Oprah’s nieces, and had a DNA test done. She was right. Vernita was her mother, and Oprah was her her sister. Boom.
The other day I was driving to Chick Fil-A because I was absolutely starving and wanted a sandwich and looked in my wallet. I had two dollars… and that’s actually fairly normal. Oprah Winfrey has somewhere between 2.5 and 2.7 BILLION dollars! What if you found out tomorrow that you were related to a billionaire!?! What troubles and problems in your life would just absolutely vanish on the spot?
Now look, I don’t know how Oprah’s going to handle this or what Patricia and her family are going to expect to come out of this whole thing, but when I first heard the news on Monday, I thought to myself, “Wow, that’s good news for Oprah… and really, really good news for Oprah’s new sister!!!!!!” I mean, what if all of a sudden, after a long, tough life of struggling and straining to make it, you found out that you were related by blood to one of the absolute wealthiest people on the face of the planet, and you had the DNA test to prove it?!? What if all of a sudden, you realized, “I don’t have to worry anymore. I don’t have to struggle anymore. I’m going to be taken care of. It’s all going to be okay. I never have to worry again for as long as I live…” Wouldn’t that be awesome!?
Well here’s the deal: It’s already true of you! You may not be related to Oprah Winfrey, but I have even better news than that for you! If you have believed in Jesus, you are related to Him! You are part of the family of the absolute King of the Universe who rules over everything and owns the whole world! God Almighty is your Dad and He is taking care of everything! You are part of the first and most royal family of all and you’re related by blood… the blood of Jesus spilled for you.
Listen to what Paul says in Romans 8: “For those who are led by the Spirit of God are the children of God. The Spirit you received does not make you slaves, so that you live in fear again; rather, the Spirit you received brought about your adoption to sonship. And by him we cry, “Abba,Father.” The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children. Now if we are children, then we are heirs—heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ.”
So, rejoice! You share in the inheritance of the glorious Son of God! You never have to worry or be afraid ever again! Your fortunes are beyond your wildest dreams and beyond the powers of human reckoning or imagination. You are related by blood to God Himself! Everything’s going to be so much better than okay.