I am sure that almost all of us have seen any of the popular family ancestry websites and services out there. For just a small fee, a company can tell you where in the world your DNA comes from, or they can find out all about your family history. The world has found–in a fresh and new way–the importance of family history. But this is something the authors of scripture knew long ago. And when we look at the genealogies found in scripture we see important things about the family of God as well. Matthew 1 is a great example of this.
There are some very interesting things we see when we look at who gets included in the genealogy in Matthew 1. We see the most unlikely of people included in the line of Jesus. People we would never think to include or maybe even people we would want hidden from our own line. Murders, prostitutes, adulterers. The hurt and broken. All of them brought into the family of God, into the people of God. All of them used by God.
God doesn’t do things in the manner or timing we expect. God doesn’t only use the people we would expect him to use. Matthew shows us that what Jesus did in his ministry is what God has been doing throughout history and what he will continue to do. You may not think that God can use you. That you don’t have the personality or the gifting to be used. The accuser may have convinced you that your past mistakes make you untouchable. Jesus reminds us that God’s grace is sufficient. That his mercy is beyond comprehension and given freely to those who ask. If today you struggle to see how God can use you, remember how great his grace is and how God has made a habit of using the broken to point people to the wholeness found in him.
VC Devotionals 