Genealogy of Grace

Picture from google images. 

I've never given much thought to the genealogies in the Bible. I usually just skim over those verses when I come to them in Bible reading, to be honest.

Yesterday I started reading the devotional "Moments with the Savior" by Ken Gire, and go figure, the very first chapter is based on a genealogy! It focused on the genealogy of Jesus found in Matthew 1:1-16. This time I read it, instead of just skimming over it quickly like usual.

I LOVE the points/observations that Ken Gire makes in the devotional about this genealogy, things that I had never thought about before.

Jesus' genealogy--His family tree-- is filled with broken, imperfect people.

"The Savior would come from a royal line. That much everyone knew. The line would originate with Abraham and branch through David. Yet despite how sturdy its trunk and how spreading its limbs, the Savior's family tree had its share of blight and barrenness, of bent twigs and broken branches," (Gire, "Moments with the Savior" p. 19).

In Jesus' genealogy was Jacob, who stole his brother's birthright and tricked his own father.

In Jesus' genealogy was David, a murderer and an adulterer.

In Jesus' genealogy was Rahab, a prostitute.

The list goes on and on.

Some people might be confused or even angered by this... the lineage of the Savior filled with so much brokenness, so many mistakes. When I read this now, though, I see hope and I see grace.

Gire writes, "What are we to make of all the sin, all the imperfection, all the failure? Simply this. That God's purposes are not thwarted by our humanity, however weak and wayward it may be. That he works in us and through us and, more often than not, in spite of us. That he works with us, as a gardener works with his garden. Lifting. Pruning. Watering. Weeding. Whatever it takes to bring it to fruition. Or however long it takes. This is our hope," (Gire, "Moments with the Savior" p. 20).

I see hope when I read the genealogy of Christ in Matthew 1. And I see grace! God's purposes cannot be thwarted! He uses our weaknesses, our mistakes, for something good. When we surrender to Him and His will, He weaves it all, our past failures, our brokenness, into a beautiful tapestry--one that only HE could create. So take heart! God is the Gardener, and He's not done with you yet, no matter where you are in life. The lineage of Christ is a testament to that--to God's grace and to His ability work through the generations, no matter the failures, mistakes, or history.