Dec. 17, 2014 Wednesday: 3rd Week of Advent B
The genealogy of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham. (Matthew 1:1)
A family of liars, adulterers, murderers, fornicators, connivers, and blasphemers. What a miserable lot! And yet the most famous member of this family tree isn’t known for some heinous crime. Quite the opposite, in fact. He is God become man.
Why do you think God chose such a rogues’ gallery of ancestors for his Son? Is this the best he could come up with? In a sense, yes! No matter how good any family may look on paper, they are still fallen, imperfect human beings.
Centuries of biblical history have shown us that God doesn’t usually choose the bravest or the strongest or even the holiest people to fulfill his plan. He chooses ordinary, sinful people. And so Jesus was born into an imperfect line—but a line that was made holy by God’s grace. God can work with anything. In fact, it delights him to fill us, cracked and leaky vessels though we are, with his overflowing love.
Do you feel unworthy of being part of God’s plan? You’re right: you are! We all are. However spotty our personal history or family tree, it doesn’t keep the Lord from offering us a new identity as his sons and daughters. Everyone who is baptized into Christ is grafted into a spotless lineage.
God redeemed a line of misfits and miscreants with his power. And he used this family as an important part of his plan. Even so, he is ready to do the same for you. You are more than able to bring Christ into the world, just as David, Solomon, Moses, and all the others did.
So come to the Lord and ask him to show you his plans for your life. Does he want you to bring Christ to someone in your life? Will you let him renew your zeal for sharing the good news? You are part of a royal line, and nothing is impossible for God!
“Thank you, Father, for making me part of your family. Help me to take up my role in your great plan. Unworthy though I am, let me be your light to the world!”
Word Among Us Daily Meditation
www.wau.org
A family of liars, adulterers, murderers, fornicators, connivers, and blasphemers. What a miserable lot! And yet the most famous member of this family tree isn’t known for some heinous crime. Quite the opposite, in fact. He is God become man.
Why do you think God chose such a rogues’ gallery of ancestors for his Son? Is this the best he could come up with? In a sense, yes! No matter how good any family may look on paper, they are still fallen, imperfect human beings.
Centuries of biblical history have shown us that God doesn’t usually choose the bravest or the strongest or even the holiest people to fulfill his plan. He chooses ordinary, sinful people. And so Jesus was born into an imperfect line—but a line that was made holy by God’s grace. God can work with anything. In fact, it delights him to fill us, cracked and leaky vessels though we are, with his overflowing love.
Do you feel unworthy of being part of God’s plan? You’re right: you are! We all are. However spotty our personal history or family tree, it doesn’t keep the Lord from offering us a new identity as his sons and daughters. Everyone who is baptized into Christ is grafted into a spotless lineage.
God redeemed a line of misfits and miscreants with his power. And he used this family as an important part of his plan. Even so, he is ready to do the same for you. You are more than able to bring Christ into the world, just as David, Solomon, Moses, and all the others did.
So come to the Lord and ask him to show you his plans for your life. Does he want you to bring Christ to someone in your life? Will you let him renew your zeal for sharing the good news? You are part of a royal line, and nothing is impossible for God!
“Thank you, Father, for making me part of your family. Help me to take up my role in your great plan. Unworthy though I am, let me be your light to the world!”
Word Among Us Daily Meditation
www.wau.org
