Family is messy, and the holidays tend to highlight the mess. Matthew begins his account of the life of Jesus with “The family tree of Jesus Christ, David’s son, Abraham’s son.” Then there is a list of names and histories that, if you look closely at it, makes you wonder if God made a mistake, because Jesus’s family tree looks like a lot of family trees. There are bright moments, then there are branches that no one really wants to talk about. If you don’t know who that is in your family, it might be you. But the point is that God’s work in and through you does not depend on having a beautiful family tree. You aren’t disqualified by the mess, even if you helped make it. That’s why this list at the beginning of Matthew is so encouraging. If God would bless that mess, and WORK THROUGH IT to bring His plan of redemption to bear on the world, then why wouldn’t He do the same for each of us and our messy families?

Ephesians 1:7 “In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace.”