Estimated reading time: 4 minute(s)
Did you ever think about who is coming after you? How your life will affect not just those in your path today, but those 3 or even 4 generations from now? The small things we choose and do today could have far more impact tomorrow than they do today. 🙂
I was reading Matthew today, just for fun. If you recall, the very beginning of the book is the “boring” genealogy part. I’m with you… it’s kinda boring. But look at what I read, and take a different look at it with me for a second…
Matthew 1:5-6
Salmon had Boaz (his mother was Rahab),
Boaz had Obed (Ruth was the mother),
Obed had Jesse,
Jesse had David,
and David became king.
If you remember the stories of these folks, they are quite varied, and may seem insignificant even to us… and we already know the rest of the story. So, they may have also felt somewhat regular, or average, or even insignificant.
But think about them. Boaz was the son of Rahab. Rahab was a prostitute. Do you know any “upstanding” prostitutes? Any prostitutes who have a major impact on history? Not usually. But Rahab did. Because she had a respect for God that transcended her fear of men. She risked her life to do the right thing. She helped God’s people, when she could have turned them over to their enemy.
And God rewarded her.
Not only in her lifetime, but He gave her a child. She named him Boaz. We meet Boaz in the book of Ruth. Ruth (also mentioned in these verses) was the woman who lost her husband, and even her brother-in-law and her father-in-law… and could have been completely disparaged in life. But she was not. She instead chose to put other people above herself and stayed with her mother-in-law to make sure that she was taken care of and loved. Very cool. Probably seemed like a small thing for the most part to Ruth, but the right thing nonetheless.
So, when Naomi decides to return to her home town, Ruth decides to leave her life to follow her mother-in-law, and ends up meeting Boaz there. Boaz, an older gentleman, takes kindly to young Ruth (I believe he was even a relative of Naomi) … and ends up marrying Ruth.
And Obed was born.
Not much more is said about Obed. But… this is my point.
A few cool small stories – a prostitute who honored God, and a widow who honored God by honoring her husband’s mom – produced a baby. A baby, who grew up to become a father. The father of Jesse. Again, not much said about his life.
But Jesse had a son. He had several sons. One of them was named David.
And David became King.
What a statement! From two lives that made at least one great choice for God (and at least for Rahab, several bad choices) to KING. And not just any King. David was a man after God’s own heart. He led Israel (by God’s hand) to be a powerful and peaceful nation. (Peace from enemies at least – not necessarily peace FOR their enemies…)
And I would bet that David’s great-grandparents had something to do with that. They likely told stories of how they had to choose to honor themselves, or to honor God. And how when they chose to honor Him, God honored them. And that was passed on to the generation after them. And to the next. And to the next.
What are we doing today that will affect our great-grandchildren? Who will our decendants touch with their choices. What may seem small and insignificant today may have worldwide effects tomorrow.
We can’t know. We don’t really need to. We just need to live each day loving God with all that we are and loving the people he puts in our path.
Could be that by me loving Ian, Alex or Kirsten, that they will pass that on to their kids, who will pass it on to their kids, who will pass it on to their kids…
And they may become king.
Amazing.
So live today to the fullest. Do what is right, love mercy, and walk humbly with your God. And you never know how God will use your good choices for him to change the future.