Matthew 1:1
“This is the scroll of the lineage and birth of Jesus, the Anointed One, the son of David and descendant of Abraham.”
“We have been made new.” What does that mean? Well, because of Jesus, our lives are transformed, and we are given a clean slate. Jesus Christ died for our sins and gave us the opportunity to have a new start. Our failures in life and the things that make us different or outcasts are the things that Jesus sees and loves anyways. Our failures are never final, for grace overcomes every obstacle.
David and Abraham. Notice how the beginning of the New Testament starts with these two names. Matthew 1:1, the verse you just read at the beginning of this devotional, begins with those two names. Did you know that both these men, David and Abraham failed time and time again in their lives?
Here is the thing to pay attention to though. Regardless of their pasts and their mistakes and their qualities that make them “different” according to culture, both had failures that impacted them for the rest of their lives, yet God restored them. God gave them a “do-over.” So many times our guilt convinces us that God will never use us, speak to us, or show us a miracle—all because of failure in our past. But in God’s eyes, because of Jesus becoming the ultimate sacrifice, taking on our sin, and dying on the cross, we are considered to be a part of God’s eternal family. And that future is full of hope and glory.
Today, take some time to reflect on how beautiful of a gift it is to considered apart of God’s family, no matter who you are, what you’ve done.