Have you ever looked at your life and wondered how God could bring anything good out of it? Have you ever looked at your past and thought it would be best buried and forgotten? After all, your failings and mistakes can have no part in God’s plan. Right?

Read Matthew 1:1-17.

This portion of Scripture describes the lineage of Jesus Christ. It is a listing of all of the men and women who made up the family that would eventually lead to the birth of Christ. This family line was a huge part of His redemptive plan for all of mankind.

This is a hugely significant passage.

Abraham was the father of Isaac.

Isaac was the father of Jacob.

Jacob was the father of Judah…

And, so it goes. But read it all and read it slowly.

And David was the father of Solomon by the wife of Uriah… – Matthew 1:6

Do you see it?  Matthew, when describing the lineage of Christ, refers to David’s child with “the wife of Uriah.” Those words are intended to remind us of the sins of David – his acts of adultery and murder.

All too often, we think our sins render us useless in the Kingdom.  Or, once forgiven, we think our sins should be swept under the rug and never mentioned again.  After all, God can’t use broken people.  Right?

…from David to the deportation to Babylon fourteen generations, and from the deportation to Babylon to the Christ fourteen generations. – Matthew 1:17

Twenty eight generations between David and Christ.  Between a sinful, broken, wretch of a man and the holy, sinless, Savior of the world.

God is still in the business of redeeming His people.  Every day, He makes beauty out of ashes.

Forgiveness does not mean that there are not consequences for our sin.  It does mean, however, that our past failings do not render us useless in God’s eyes.  If we bring our brokenness to Him, He can use it to bring glory to Himself.

Do not let your past stand in the way of a beautiful future with God.