Your family background doesn’t matter

“Jesus is not ashamed to call [us] brothers.” Hebrews 2:11 NIV

Every family has its secrets. A cousin with a prison record or a dad who abandoned the family or a grandparent who ran off with a coworker. It may surprise you to know Jesus didn’t come from a perfect family either. The Bible records the details of Jesus’ ancestral lineage—and it includes some not-so-nice characters! There’s a prostitute called Rahab, and there’s a white-collar criminal named Jacob who took advantage of his brother and his father-in-law in order to get rich. And how about King David? One day he was writing Psalms, and the next day he was seducing the wife of one of his army officers. The list goes on, and scripture records it to let you know two important truths: (1) You are not unique. If your family tree has damaged fruit, Jesus wants you to know He’s been there! In the absence of any mention of Joseph’s involvement in Jesus’ adult life, some scholars believe Mary may have raised Him and his siblings alone. And Jesus wasn’t reluctant to call His ancestors family—which means He’s not ashamed of you either. (2) Jesus doesn’t look at your past in order to decide your future. In His eyes, spiritual DNA trumps natural DNA! The Bible says, “If anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: the old has gone, the new is here! All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation” (2 Corinthians 5:17-18 NIV). So don’t be afraid to tell others that what Jesus did for you, He will do for them when they put their trust in Him.

Bible in a year: 1 Chron 1-3 and Acts 14