Genealogy

Is Genealogy important?  We have just gone through the Christmas Season where we celebrate the birth of the Savior, Jesus.  Within and around the description of Jesus' birth is recounted his genealogy.  This is important because it fulfills the Old Testament prophesy that the Messiah would descend from the House of David.  In Matthew 1:1-17, Jesus' genealogy is traced not only to David but all the way to Abraham.  Matthew here links the Davidic Covenant (2 Samuel 7:12-16) to the Abrahamic Covenant (Genesis 12:1-3; 22:18), in which God promised to bless all nations of the earth through Abraham's seed.  So the answer to the opening question is a resounding YES!

As you look through Jesus' genealogy you see familiar names, unfamiliar names and you also see the names of people with checkered lives.  There is Jacob who conspired to steal his birthright.  You see Judah who was a co-conspirator in attempting to kill his brother and you see David, the adulterer.  You can look at each of the human ancestors of Jesus and find to one degree or another human frailty.  These facts should only further prove to us our need for The Savior, who taking the form of a man came to earth to provide what no mortal could provide... the perfect sacrifice for your inescapable human, sinful condition.  The Son, lay aside the glory of heaven to step into a fallen, sinful world to redeem us because we are unable to redeem ourselves.

In a world that seems to increasingly send the message that man can create a better and better world through science and enlightenment, I look around and see the opposite.  I am neither anti-science nor anti-enlightened thinking.  Quite the opposite, God bestowed us with a mind that seeks to be creative and to understand and appreciate creation.  Jesus' teaching to love our neighbor, turn the other cheek and even to love our enemies forces us to think beyond the human nature which tells us to protect our own, seek revenge and annihilate our enemies.  We don't need our best life now.  We need redemption forevermore.  We will never achieve that on our own.  Look at your own ancestry.

I began to think on these things recently when my nephew emailed a genealogy tree which he started on an internet ancestry website.  Not knowing a great deal about my ancestry, I took up the search.  I deduced from my research that three basic groups of people came to America:  Those with resources, who sought more; those with nothing, seeking something and those brought against their will as slaves.  Surprisingly, I found all three in my genealogy.  From my maternal ancestry came the Scotch-Irish.  Most coming with little other than dreams and a strong work ethic.  One young Irishman named, Benjamin, came as an indentured servant.  He was an apprentice Navigator and worked off his 3 year term to gain his freedom.  From the paternal side of my father's family came the English.  Most came early and settled as Virginia Planters, eventually heading south to the Carolinas.  Examining the census records I found that many were slave-owners.  I found a Last Will and Testament recorded from Preserved Ford, where he bequeathed land, possessions and slaves to his family and to his debtors.  The maternal side of my father's family proved most interesting.  The family was primarily of English descent and came to America in the 1600s, settling in the Northeast as far south as Virginia.  In the late 1700s I discovered my Great, Great, Great Grandmother.  Her name was Charity and she married my Great, Great, Great Grandfather, Jesse.  Census records record her race as "Black" and her status as "Free".  She was a freed slave!

Why do I tell you this story?  I tell you for two reason.  The first is that I am proud of my ancestry.  I also traced my wife's ancestry.  Her ancestor, George Washington Eskridge, took in the orphaned daughter of a friend.  This young lady, Mary Ball, married his nephew, Augustine Washington.  They are the parents of George Washington, the father of our country.  Flowing through the veins of our children is the blood of Statesmen and Slaves.  It's a history of struggle, victory, failure and inspiration.  A story of strong sturdy people not afraid to take on a challenge or do something just because it is difficult.  The other reason I tell this story is because it is instructive.  Over hundreds of years science has advanced and living conditions have changed, but human nature never has.  I see the same frailties, failures, struggles and prejudices.  Their form changes, but they are always present.  You can trace greed, prejudice and pride through history and it still exist today.  We are greedy in different ways.  We prejudge different people and groups.  We eliminated slavery, but slaughter millions of innocent unborn children each year.  And we are still conceited enough to think that we can move this world toward perfection without the need of The Redeemer.