What do you know about your ancestors? How far back can you trace your heritage? Can you trace it back to Europe or Africa or the Middle East? Did you know your great grandparents? Do you know where they lived? Have you traced the migration of your ancestors?
Some of us are interested in our ancestry and others are not. Some of us will spend hours going over the migration path of our ancestors and others could not care less. Regardless of whether we enjoy looking at our ancestry or not, without them we would not be here now.
Though our heritage is important in many ways, it does not have to define us. We may come from a family of poor people and achieve great things. We may have some horrible people in our ancestry tree and be good people. Though the genetics passed down to us does define us in one aspect, it doesn’t completely define us nor keep us from making the right decision.
The Jews and the early Christians speak of Jesus being the son of David. However, if you look at the lineage provided in both Matthew and Luke, both of them trace the ancestry to Joseph. Now, we all know that Joseph was not really Jesus’s father. Mary was a virgin and impregnated by the power of God (Luke 1:35). Yet, the Jews traced heritage by the husband in their patriarchal society.
When the Apostle Paul writes to young Timothy, he references Jesus as a descendant of David. But more importantly, he states that he suffers for the gospel’s sake. It is due to his spreading the news of Jesus that he has been chained by human authorities. Are we willing to be chained for the sake of the gospel? I dare say most of us are not. Yet, we should be willing to go to our death, if need be, to tell others about Jesus. Quite simply, He is that important. The eternal life of others is that important.
I pray we all credit our ancestors for our being here. I pray we understand Jesus is the Son of God. I pray each one of us is willing to put our lives on the line to spread the good news of the gospel. Know Jesus is the Son of God. Tell others about Jesus. Be willing to suffer for Jesus.
2 Timothy 2:8-9 Remember Jesus Christ, raised from the dead, a descendant of David—that is my gospel, for which I suffer hardship, even to the point of being chained like a criminal. But the word of God is not chained.
Marty Pressey 