Pass It On

Scripture

16Jacob was the father of Joseph, the husband of Mary. Mary gave birth to Jesus, who is called the Messiah. 17All those listed above include fourteen generations from Abraham to David, fourteen from David to the Babylonian exile, and fourteen from the Babylonian exile to the Messiah.

Matthew 1:16-17

Observation

After 400 years of silence between the end of the Old Testament in Malachi and the beginning of The New Testament in Matthew, the silence is broken with a celebration of generational faith. Matthew walks us through the genealogy of Jesus and it’s quite enlightening. The perfect man descended from some very imperfect men and women. Matthew was a tax collector and kept record of both debt and credit. As a Jew who worked for the harsh regime of the Romans he knew what it was like to be hated by family and friends. Imagine the comfort he took in seeing how God redeemed such a shady family tree. Matthew includes some colorful women in the generations preceding Jesus even though women were rarely included in genealogies: Tamar who committed incest (Gen 38), Rahab who was a Gentile prostitute (Josh 2,6), Ruth a Gentile and Uriah who committed adultery (2 Sam 11). He also mentions David who committed adultery with Uriah and murdered her husband, Solomon who worshipped the false gods of his pagan wives, Jacob who lied and deceived constantly. As Meyer puts it, “Men and women, notorious for their evil character, lie in the direct line of his descent. This was permitted, that He might fully represent our fallen race.” Not only that, but it also reveals the powerful way God can redeem our family tree with the choice to pass down our faith instead of our failures.

Application

As I sit here journaling I am overwhelmed with the beautiful view before me. Some might assume I’m referring to Morro Rock jutting up from the white crested Bay cutting a powerful silhouette in the blue sky line. Yes, that’s breathtaking. It’s nothing in comparison to the view that sits around this table as my sons journal alongside their Grandpa Dave. Our family tree isn’t perfect either. Apparently the first murder off the Mayflower in the new world was a descendant of ours. Yet, my boys have an authentic relationship with Jesus because my Dad and Mom and Cyndi’s Dad and Mom passed down a generational faith to us. Now we sit in Gpa Dave’s family Beach House and I can’t help but picture the children of my boys sitting around this table with their Great Grandpa sharing around the table what God’s voice was teaching them through God’s Word. Every decision I make will either pass on my on faith or my failures. Yet, because of what we celebrate this week through the Cross and Resurrection of Christ, even in my many failures my boys can see how faith will still emerge triumphant... like a rock that can’t be moved.

Prayer

Yesterday we celebrated the life of Uncle Ernie and his faith in You that was passed down his kids and grandkids. The room was filled with people who’s lives were impacted not because of his accomplishments but because of his care for others through Christ. You tell us in Ecclesiastes that a funeral is better than a party because it reminds us of what matters most. What matters most is that I take every day to celebrate the generational faith passed on to me and to make sure I pass it on to the next generation.