God Celebrates Ordinary People
“And Eliud the father of Eleazar, and Eleazar the father of Matthan, and Matthan the father of Jacob the father of Joseph and Joseph the husband of Mary, of whom Jesus was born, called the Christ.” Matthew 1:15-16
Confession: I love celebrities. I read people.com daily. I like to know who is dating who, who broke up with who, and what the latest trend is. Award season is marked on my calendar and I eagerly await the pre-show to see what everyone chooses to wear. My husband thinks I’m crazy and wishes I read more newsworthy material, but these people captivate me!
I secretly want to be walking that red carpet. And while not all people share this desire to be the center of attention, every human heart does long to be celebrated and noticed.
In the first chapter of Matthew, a genealogy of Jesus is given. I did not include the entire 16 verses, but men and women such as Hezron, Ruth, Nahshon, Uzziah, Manasseh, Joram, Zerubbabel are all recorded.
The list seems like just a bunch of unimportant names and they would be were it not for the very last name that they are connected to – Jesus. These seemingly mundane people are made significant because they are united to Jesus.
What Jesus does to this genealogy is what he does to us – he makes us significant. Did you know that in the eyes of God you are celebrated, noticed and significant because of Jesus’ death and resurrection?
My name is a regular topic of conversation in the trinity and so is yours. God used broken, sinful and seemingly unimportant people to bring about the salvation of the world through Jesus. And he is still using broken, sinful and seemingly unimportant people – you and I – to extend his kingdom and build his church until Jesus returns.
One of the most life changing truths you can share with someone is their significance in the eyes of God because of Jesus’ death and resurrection. People are hungry to hear that they matter. Pray about who you can share this with and then do it!