“Salmon was the father of Boaz by Rahab,

Boaz was the father of Obed by Ruth,

and Obed the father of Jesse.

Jesse was the father of David the king.

David was the father of Solomon by Bathsheba who had been the wife of Uriah.”   Matthew 1:5-6 ESV

Do the names listed in Jesus’ lineage surprise you? A prostitute, a foreigner, an adulterer and murderer are included in His story.   I know that I am sometimes tempted to clean up the story of my past to make it sound better, but the Bible does no such thing.  We can rest assured that the Bible is true because it tells the story of imperfect people and God’s desire to use them to magnify His grace. 

Father God,

We praise and thank you for using imperfect people, like us, to accomplish Your will. You know our every shortcoming, but still chose to adopt us into Your family for eternity.   Thank you for the examples that You recorded for us in Your Word.  We praise You for Your perfect love for all of us who do not deserve it.  Give us grace and compassion to love others this Christmas as You have loved us.  

We love You, Lord.  Amen