A Lineage of Grace

This time of year I always meditate on the grace found in the lineage of our Savior. My favorite is the double grace given to Rahab. First, her faith saved her from Jericho's fate. And then she got a Jewish husband! (I tend to lean toward it being one of the spies she saved--but who knows.) And she became one of our Savior's grandmothers. The double blessing of grace? She had a godly, compassionate son who is also one of Scripture's heroes. His name was Boaz--Ruth's kinsman redeemer. Grace, grace, marvelous grace!

Another grace story in our Savior's lineage: A wife by the duplicitous wrangling of her father; a victim of a husband's apathy because of his selfish disease called "playing favorites." (He was really "good" at it.) Yet, chosen by God to be another one of our Savior's grandmothers. Her name? Leah.

A third grace story: David and Bathsheba. Their first son died. Please don't believe that grace eliminates consequences. But the grace of God was undeniably evident in the birth of their second son. You've heard of Solomon, right? Grace, grace, marvelous grace.

When I read Jesus "family tree" in Matthew, I am struck by how many of those people we know absolutely nothing about. They are nearly anonymous blips on the screen of history. Yet, our God knew each of them and by His grace preserved them so that in the fullness of time we might have our Savior. From one blip on the screen of history to another, isn't it astounding that the God of the universe knows you and that your "family tree" has been preserved through all the years of history from Noah to today? What did all my European ancestors live through--wars, plagues, famines, migrations, who knows what?--that I would be here today in this century, in this country, chosen and adopted into His family by His infinite grace? Grace, grace, God's grace--marvelous grace. Isn't it great being one of his blips on the screen of history?