I've got your back

At church on Sunday I heard one of the most reaffirming messages I have heard.  It was reaffirming in that it was the truth, it hit home, and it was so very, very real.  Admittedly I may well be one of the hugest fans of the message bearer (at least in my mind I am!).  The topic:  A family tree full of knots.  In a nutshell, the message spoke of the family tree of Jesus, which is documented thoroughly in Matthew as he began writing about the Christmas story.  Jesus's family tree was one messed up deal, a lot of knots in that tree.  Follow the lineage and the backstories and you will find an amazing network of not just goodness, but some pretty awfulness as well. 

I don't know all of the details (and perhaps never will) of my family tree, but I do know....with certainty, that there are more than a few knots in that tree (and perhaps I'm one!).  I'd bet that if you have done, or have been presented with, a genealogical study of your own family, you too might come to the conclusion that there are some knots there.  Dismay not !  Brokeness is a part of us all, and thus we all have knots in our background.

One could easily wonder why Matthew included this stuff in his gospel as the precursor to the Christmas story.  It was included to show that God is bigger than our mistakes.  It is a direct lesson for each of us...God is bigger than our mistakes....all of them.  From that we can derive the following about our everyday lives:

• our lives are more than out pasts
• our lives are about what we choose to do next
• because God says "I've got your back"
• "you are redeemed"
• "I know all about the past"
• "I still want to use you for My purposes"

I had a hard time, for a long time, dealing with my own past....my warts, my mistakes, my screw ups, my sin.  It took me a long time to accept that God is bigger than my mistakes....that He has my back.  All I have to do is forward focus and make that next right choice. 

Have you allowed God to have your back?  Are you being forward focused?

Thanks Greg B.