Promising Future

Saturday, December 16, 2006
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Matthew 1:1 – A record of the genealogy of Jesus Christ the son of David, the son of Abraham. (NIV)

The first seventeen verses of Matthew's Gospel wreak havoc with my computer's spell-checker. As I look at the passage before me, most of the names are underlined in red, simply because my computer doesn't recognize them and wants to fix them. If I were to spend time adding them to my computer's dictionary, I would be here all day!

There are many names of people who are obscure, but Matthew mentions David and Abraham first — both of which my computer recognizes. They are first on the list because of the covenants God made with them. He made a promise that one of David's successors would reign as king forever. He also promised Abraham that his descendants would be blessed forever.

Both of these covenants were fulfilled in Jesus. He is the everlasting King of all creation and the immortal blessing of all human life.

Matthew is telling his readers that Jesus is the authentic Messiah, the Holy One that His people have been waiting for over many generations.

As we read the names, we can add our own family tree to the bottom of the list. Someone, somewhere in our past, implanted a seed of faith in each of our hearts. It may have been a family member or friend. It may have been a preacher or Sunday School teacher. It may have been an elder or member of the church. Whoever, wherever, or whatever, is now part of this eternal list!

Prayer: Lord Jesus, thank You for adopting us into Your family. Thank You for sending someone into each of our lives to show us the path to faith. Help each of us this day to plant the same seed in the hearts and minds of others, so that this list may expand and more generations may become faithful to Your promises and covenant. In Your holy name, we pray. Amen.

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About the author:

John Stuart <traqair@aol.com>
Knoxville, Tennessee, USA

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