Genealogy

When I was younger, there was nothing quite so dull as talking about genealogy.  My eyes would glaze over as I listened to my grandparents talk about our relatives.  Now, I wish I had paid more attention.  I want to know about these relatives that came before me.  What were their stories?  What made them tick?  Am I like them in any way? Where we come from is essential and exciting.  Genealogy is more than just a list of names.  Each name represents a human being who had thoughts, actions, emotions, and dreams. There are ancestry websites that can answer some of these names, but it leaves out the story of their life. I am blessed to have an aunt that can connect some of the dots and tell me stories to make these people come alive.

Have you ever stopped to look at Jesus’ genealogy?  I admit, when I would read the first chapter of Matthew, I would skim through the list of names to get to what I considered the good stuff.  This year I am in a Bible study studying Matthew.  This in-depth look made me stop and look at the list of names.  They became real to me, not just figures from my childhood Sunday School classes. I saw unfamiliar people and those I was familiar with, such as Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, David, Solomon, down to Joseph and Mary.  In between are generations of people I had not heard of in Sunday School stories but were just as crucial as the familiar names.  Each person had a place in history.

When I started to look at these people, I quickly saw some surprises.  Tamar and Rahab were prostitutes; Ruth was a Moabite.  Not everyone in this prestigious line was Jewish.  Jesus came to save everyone, not just Abraham’s chosen line. God used a Moabite woman.  These people were enemies of God’s people and worshipped another deity.  Tamar grew tired of waiting for God to answer her prayers, so she tricked her father-in-law into sleeping with her and became pregnant. Rahab protected the spies when they came to check out the land of Canaan. The Israelites spared her and her family when they conquered Jericho. Keeping a promise, they had made earlier. But when I think about the heroes of faith, I see that they are equally flawed. They stuggled with disobedience, deceit, adultery, murder and unfaithfulness to God’s direction in their life.  I am a deeply flawed person who God can use to further His Kingdom. If God chose to use imperfect human beings to bring redemption and salvation into this sin-marred world, then there is hope for me.  I can trust in God’s Sovereignty to forgive my mistakes and sins.

I thought about Mary and Ruth.  They both had the right heart attitude, although they were still imperfect and sinful. God can use anyone for His glory, and our part is a true belief, right heart attitude, and a willingness to be used by Him. We all have different stories and different family lines. However, Jesus’ genealogy proves to us that good can come out of evil and dysfunction. 

Mary – highly favored, was chosen to be Jesus’ mother.  Wow!! Imagine giving birth to the redeemer of the world.  With her obedience came trials.  Would Joseph reject her? What would the other people say? Would she be put to death for being unmarried and pregnant?  I am sure she had a lot of fear and anxiety. Her obedience came with a price.  Our obedience may cost us something also.  By obeying God, we are going against this world’s ideas and ways. Whatever God asks me to do, may I respond as Mary did; “I am the Lord’s servant,” Mary answered.  “May it be to me as you have said.” (Luke 1:38)

Matthew chapter one is a story of God’s grace, mercy, and His will prevailing.  He can and does bring good out of every situation.  The heroes in this line were not perfect or better than us; they had a heart that longed after God.  There was hurt and brokenness in these people’s stories. They experienced God’s love and forgiveness, and it changed them.  God’s love and forgiveness can also change us.  We must acknowledge our sin, turn from it and allow God to change our hearts.

God has a plan and will use people to bring it to fruition.  Sometimes He uses unbelievers to fulfill His way.  Look at King Saul and the Pharisees and Sadducees.  They could not stop God from fulfilling His plan to put King Jesus on His throne through the line of David.  God had already decided this would happen, and no one could stand in His way.  And look at all the Jewish people crying out for Jesus’ crucifixion.  Would the authorities have gone all the way to killing Jesus if the people were not crying out for it?  And yet, Jesus had to go to the cross to die for our sins.  Praise God Jesus was obedient and faithful to God the Father and fulfilled God’s plan for His creation.

I don’t know the stories of all the people in Jesus’ line. However, I do know they served a purpose in God’s plan to bring His perfect Son at the perfect time to redeem this sin-scarred, deeply flawed human race.  We needed a Savior.  And Jesus is the answer to our need.

I serve a purpose, and so do you.  It is to bring glory to God.  We all have different paths and directions to fulfill.  God will help us if we ask Him and turn our hearts and minds to Him.  Two things I know for sure are that I can fully trust in God’s sovereignty and that he is immutable.  God is not relying on my faithfulness.  He needs nothing from me to bring about His will.  Amazingly, He chooses to allow me to partake in His plans.  I pray that I have a heart that longs after Him and my heart remains soft and tender to the Spirit’s leading.

Whenever I think that I am not good enough or too sinful for God to use me or be glorified in me, I now think of Jesus’ genealogy.  God will use sinful people with changed hearts who make themselves available to Him.  It is not about what we bring to the table but about who God is.  That thought brings me hope.