2 Corinthians 5:17, Luke 3:23, Romans 8:14-17, Galatians 3:13

Cleland Tom on who do you think you were?

Cleland Thom

2 Corinthians 5: 17: Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!

I know a guy who can trace his family's Christian heritage back more than 1,000 years.

Imagine that. One of his forefathers converted to Christianity in around 1020AD, and his successors have produced continuous generations of Jesus-lovers ever since.

That's a millennium of missionaries, pastors, teachers and countless other saints. And the 'production line' is still rolling.

I'm not so fortunate.

I can only find one believer in my family tree. My great-grandfather was a Christian and wrote Christian material.
Years later, I'm a Christian and do the same. So, I do have a small spiritual legacy.

However, this as far as it goes. My other forbears largely comprise criminals, occultists and bankrupts.

Without God's grace, I'd have been the same.

Maybe you're the in a similar position to me. And a similar position to Jesus.

His genealogies in Luke 3:23 and Matthew 1 don't make comfortable reading. His ancestors were a strange bunch who include plotters, liars, adulterers and prostitutes.

Not exactly a great family tree. And so, some people ask: 'Why would a perfect God allow his son to have a lineage like that?'

But when you have truly encountered the merciful Jesus who loves prostitutes and outcasts, the question becomes: 'Why wouldn't he?'

And Father God has always had a special place for prostitutes. Tamar and Rahab both appear in Jesus' genealogy.

However, Father God loves us too much to let us remain bound by our heritage.