When God Writes Straight with Crooked Lines

Matthew 1:1-17

How often do you hear the beginning of Matthew’s Gospel and immediately feel the urge to tune out?

Let’s be honest, it’s a long list of names.

Genealogies can seem dry, especially when the names mean little to us. But if that’s how you’ve felt about Matthew’s genealogy of Jesus, it’s time to look again.

This isn’t just a historical record. It’s a reflection of God’s plan unfolding through deeply flawed, complex, and significant people.

These aren’t just names.

They’re stories filled with scandal (enough to put Hollywood to shame), struggle, and surprising grace.

In a genealogy dominated by men, Matthew includes five women. That’s not an accident. 

Who are these women?

Tamar was twice widowed and childless. In desperation, she disguised herself, seduced her father-in-law, and bore twin sons. That’s enough drama for a whole HBO series.

Rahab was a Canaanite prostitute in Jericho who risked her life to help Israelite spies. She was later praised in Hebrews for her faith.

Ruth lost her husband at a young age, endured famine with her elderly mother-in-law, and showed fierce loyalty when others walked away. She displayed tremendous courage and bravery in finding a new husband.

Bathsheba had an affair with King David and worked with him to try to cover it up. When it failed, her husband was murdered by the king and she lost the child as punishment from God. And yet, she became a mother in the Messianic line through God’s redemptive work. 

Mary, the young virgin, willingly submitted to the call of God, bearing Christ, our Savior.

Do you see the themes? 

It begins with brokenness. Messy, complicated, painful stories. 

But it doesn’t stay there. 

There’s eventual repentance, redemption, submission, and faithfulness. 

And there’s God, who works through it all to bring about something unimaginably beautiful.

The point is this:

God writes straight with crooked lines. 

Think about that.

What are the crooked lines in your life? 

The struggles, wounds, or regrets that feel like they define your story.

Here’s the truth, the deeper story: 

If you open your heart to Him, there is nothing—nothing—He can’t redeem.

Let Him take the broken pieces of your life and create something beautiful. 

He desires that for you. Your heart needs it. Your world needs it.

Onward & Upward,

Ted


Here’s what I’m reading this week

 

C.S. Lewis’s The Great Divorce is a sharp, imaginative allegory about the eternal consequences of our attitudes and choices. Lewis exposes the subtle, stubborn ways we justify ourselves and reject grace, reminding readers that there’s no middle ground between Heaven and Hell. In the end, we either say to God, 'Thy will be done,' or He says it to us.


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