No one who
takes the Bible seriously would say that parts of it are unnecessary. After all, if it really is inspired, God must
have had a reason for including the things that are in there. Having said that, though, there certainly are
some parts of the word that are “more interesting” or “less interesting” to
read.
One of
those “less interesting” sections is found at the start of Matthew’s
gospel. Here we find seventeen verses
that include nothing but the names of 46 people who are in the lineage of
Christ. Some of the names are familiar
(like Abraham, David and Joseph) and others are names that we do not know and
can hardly pronounce (like “Abiud”).
It is
tempting to skip the names and start reading at Matthew 1:18, but that would be
a mistake. We need that long list of
names. One reason for that is to remind
us that God had a plan and that he keeps his promises. It may take a long time, even many
generations, but God will do what he said he would do.
The other
reason this list is important is that it reminds me that my life is important,
even if I do not see the results right now.
Grab a Bible, look those people up and you will find that their lives
were not always spectacular. Some of
them went through times of huge failure.
Some had all kinds of struggles. Most,
it seems, simply lived a boring, ordinary life. They were just there living
their lives and doing the best they could.
Yet, because God had a plan to use them and their off-spring to bring
his son into the world, they were part of something much bigger than
themselves.
This reminds
me that most of us have no idea what we are doing (and I mean that in the best
way). You may think that you are not
doing much, but maybe the little things you do are huge to someone. You may think that your example does not
matter, but your kindness and your words of cheer may remembered by someone
long after you are gone. Maybe God is
preparing you for something you could never dream of or imagine. Maybe the results of your life will not be
known to you until eternity. Who knows?
I am fairly
certain that “Abiud” (whoever he was) had no idea that we would still be
talking about him in 2013.
Your life, deeds,
example and faith are more powerful than you know.
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