All In The Family

Greetings, my friends! To God be the glory!

I was really excited at Sunday School today because the lesson was about the genealogy of Jesus, from Abraham through the birth of Jesus. I was so thrilled because once again being a student of the Word has its reward! Our Sunday School teacher, Sis. Alice Brent, taught with excitement and because I now pride myself on being a student of the Word, I was able to stay on the course right there with her.

My friends, what intrigues me about Jesus' genealogy is that His family makeup consists of murderers, adulterers, liars, rapist, deceivers, and prostitutes. What God shows us is that He uses people with a background of sin, He uses people who are not perfect to do His will. However, Jesus, the only perfect One, was sent by God to save us and deliver us from darkness. So, when our family members do something that is not the will of God, we need to still love them and forgive them. Most importantly, we need to tell them about the goodness of Jesus and that He can forgive them of their sins.

Jesus wants to clean up our past. It does not matter how much we have done, or what we have done, or to whom we have done it; God wants to forgive us of our sins and He wants to use us to do His will. By living for God and doing what He wants us to do, will get us to eternity with our Lord. Our goal should be to get to Heaven. That's what we should be concerning ourselves with, not what we have done in the past.

Dr. Phyllis Jones indicated that knowing our history can strengthen our self image. She said that it is important to keep in mind that a person's family tree does not necessarily determine his or her present or future. In Jesus, a person gains new purpose, fresh energy, and amazing love. No matter what your background may be, you can have new life through Jesus Christ (Living The Lesson, Adult Christian Life 2009).

I pray that you will not let your past define your present and certainly not your future. God has forgiven you and you need to forgive yourself. As for our family members, we all have a relative who does things that are not right, but who are we to judge? We ourselves have done things that are not of God, we still do, because we know it is a constant struggle walking in the path of the Lord. Do not judge, but forgive and pray for family members. Turn them over to God.

With love, peace and joy,
Therese from Belize