Tangled Trees
By Elin Henderson
“…the genealogy of Jesus Christ the
Son of David, the Son of Abraham…”
Matthew
1:1 (NKJV)
Let’s
face it, most of our family trees are interesting sights to behold. There are
some straight and lovely branches, and then there are the gnarled branches, and
the ones you wish you could snap off and hide. Usually, our trees are a tangled
mess of the good and the bad.
Jesus
was no different than we when it comes to tangled family trees. On his mother’s
side, there were more than a few gnarled branches. The first chapter of Matthew
does a great job of listing out the key characters in Jesus’ family tree.
Among
the many names there are a few that stand out. He had many upright and godly
men in His tree: names like Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, David and Solomon. Then
there are the lesser known Uzziah and Jotham, both who “did what was right in the sight of the Lord” (II Kings
15:34). BUT, there are a few shady characters as well. Do you remember
Rahab? She was the prostitute (not the best career choice) who hid the
Israelites who came to scout out Jericho. Next someone named Abijam. I Kings
15:3 says, “…he walked in all the sins of
his fathers…his heart was not loyal to the LORD his God…” Then Ahaz, who
was so bad, he made Abijam
look good (II Kings 16:3)!! On and on it goes through the list - - some good,
some bad.
Jesus
truly had a controversial family tree. It was part of His identity, but He
didn’t live in relation to that. He was a Branch that stood out among all the
others. Jeremiah 23:5 calls Him the “Branch
of Righteousness.” Why? He lined Himself up with a different point of
reference: His Heavenly Father.
I find
hope in Jesus’ tangled tree. It reminds me that my past does not dictate my
future. Yes, there are some great things in my family tree, but you know, there
are some pretty ugly things, as well. My hope and prayer is that as I look to
Him, He will continue to make all things new in my life, including my branch of
the family tree.
GOING
DEEPER:
1. As
the holiday season has wrapped up, having brought
relatives from far and wide to remind us of our tangled trees (!), what can we
learn from the good and even the bad that make up our family trees?
2. How
can we stand out as branches of righteousness in the midst of it all this new
month…and throughout the year?
FURTHER
READING:
Oakwood’s missionaries Elin Henderson (a registered nurse) and her husband Phil serve as church planters with New Tribes in Mozambique, Africa. Elin is mother to sixteen-year-old Callie and fourteen-year-old Elias.
New King James Version (NKJV)
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
