Some people are just so creepy their is no way they could be Christians. Right!! Wrong. Over and over I found myself encountering people who have this idea that Christians are these weird do-gooders who are so “do-good” they are just strange. The thinking goes that those Christians, well “they have never had a drink, they have never done drugs, they really have never experienced life at all”. At least that is the perception – and it is false.
Each year at Christmas time, many of us go out to see a Christmas play, or we make our way to some candlelight service and we hear the story of Baby Jesus. Sometimes we even get to listen in to that long list of names. You know the one – from Matthew Chapter one of the New Testament. We often try to skip over it because we can’t pronounce the names. One of the verses (vs 4) reads like this: “Ram was the father of Amminadab, Amminadab the father of Nahshon, and Nahshon the father of Salmon.”. That is enough to make most people quit.
But next time you get to this chapter, don’t quit so soon. If you keep reading, there is something actually quite astounding in the list of names. Many of us already understand that the point of the list is to show the royal lineage of Jesus. The idea is that Jesus is in the line of David making him a legitimate king. But take a close look at the lineage and their are some pretty spotty characters in the mix.
Take for instance Tamar. Do a brief study on her and she is hardly the kind of person you would want to include at your Christmas dinner, and for sure would prefer didn’t appear in your family line. Why? Well, if you check out her story, she “tricked” her father in law in to having sex with her so that she could have kids. The whole thing is really quite a sordid affair. I am not sure who is the worse Judah for seeking a prostitute, or Tamar for pretending to be one and following through.
Tamar is not the only one of questionable character in this list. There is also Rahab. She lived in the land of Canaan and was a prostitute by profession. Before the people of Israel came into the land after being freed from Egyptian slavery, they sent spies to check the place out. They visited this one town and she took them in and gave them shelter. For all of her past, it seems strange that these spies would seek shelter with her. It is even more strange that this woman would be included in the list of family for one is The King.
In our world, there are people who can be very judgmental. It is really quite tragic. A persons history is exposed and suddenly the good times end, the conversation is over.
I am very thankful that God isn’t like that. God was not afraid to include some of the most questionable of characters in his family tree. He has written their names in the book of life. It is right there before our very eyes in Matthew chapter one. Perhaps you have some questionable stuff in your past. Let me encourage you to take heart. God is the only one who forgives and he is waiting for you. He is not looking for some magic words, he won’t make you grovel. Tell Him you are sorry. Repent. He will forgive you without hesitation, and without delay.
Perhaps you look at these stories, and you look down on those people. Then let me ask you to take a second look. While these people may have done some terrible things, they turned to God for forgiveness, and God extended them grace. Perhaps we should too. Christmas is a wonderful time of year. We often talk about how it is a season for “Peace”. Let me be very clear, there will not be peace, if you first cannot forgive those in your midst. Lets make this Christmas a special one. Lets include those we might otherwise not. Lets reach out and forgive. Lets turn to God regardless of our past, and ask him to write our names into His book of life. May it be that your name gets included in the list of those who are part of His family.