It's Plain to See that We're One Big Family
The other week I started reading the Gospel of Luke. Chapter 3 contains a record of Jesus' genealogy that I hadn't really read before. To be honest, the first time I read Matthew, which starts with genealogy, I was cross-eyed by the time I got half way through and I skipped to the end. That was almost 20 years ago and in that time I have been through several amazing Bible studies, none of which had much to do with genealogy. However, in my studies on Covenant, Romans, Revelation, Joshua, Ruth and many more, I got to know some of the incredible people in the Bible and guess what? A lot of them are in the genealogy of Jesus! When I read through the list of names of who begat whom it wasn't a list of strangers but a list of people I knew. They aren't strangers to me, or faceless names but rather they are men of courage, integrity, and faith. Not perfect certainly (see David for instance) but real men living a real life who managed to be part of a family line that brought us Jesus. I would not have known them had I not been in Bible study all these years.Family can be complicated (again, see David) but even the complications can define us in many ways. It can cause us to embrace traditions or push away from them. For the good or the bad, it is often the springboard we use as we navigate through life making decisions for ourselves and for our own families God has gifted to us. I signed up for Ancestry after Christmas and did the DNA testing, and I have discovered so much more about my family since digging into my family tree. It's COMPLICATED!!! It's MESSY!!! It's full of characters who were brave, crazy, passionate, depressed, lonely, focused, hard-working, sinners, and saints. I come from some weird and wonderful people y’all, but don't we all?
Jesus had some serious characters in His family tree too. I encourage you to get into your Bible and read about these people. They were weird and wonderful too. God used them in incredible ways and through their stories we can see hints at the redemption to come through Jesus. And through Jesus we all have been grafted into this wonderful family of God! Hallelujah!
I love the song "Show Love" by Family Force 5 that we do in class. Okay, love may be a strong word and maybe I am not always feeling strong by the time we get to the out, out, in, in but I do love hearing my class sing/shout that part about being one big family. It's such a special thing to be part of a ministry where the atmosphere creates a family. I hope you all feel like family to one another. You certainly feel like family to me! And what a BLESSING it is to be part of the family of God. Forever family in Christ!
Tracie Durham is a Cardio Strength Trainer for South Central. She is a former attorney, full-time home schooling mother of three kids (Abbie, Aubrie and Charlie), wife of a Fire Chief (Phillip) and unabashed fan-girl of “all the words” and mostly importantly…of Jesus. 
