Grace is God's Family Business
Sometimes grace grows where no one expects it. In this episode of Scattered Moments, we reflect on a friend whose life defied every prediction. Born into a broken family, he encountered Christ as a child and discovered that God's grace is stronger than any family history. From the surprising names in Jesus' genealogy to the transforming power of the Gospel, we're reminded that our past may explain us, but it does not have to define us. God specializes in rewriting stories. No family tree is b...
Sometimes grace grows where no one expects it.
In this episode of Scattered Moments, we reflect on a friend whose life defied every prediction. Born into a broken family, he encountered Christ as a child and discovered that God's grace is stronger than any family history.
From the surprising names in Jesus' genealogy to the transforming power of the Gospel, we're reminded that our past may explain us, but it does not have to define us. God specializes in rewriting stories.
No family tree is beyond the reach of His grace.
Take heart. Notice the scattered moments. Share the grace.
Welcome to Scattered Moments. One of my friends loves Jesus. That sentence sounds rather ordinary until you know where he came from. His mother died a drug addict. His father was a convinced atheist. By every earthly measure, his future had already been written for him. But when he was 10 years old, someone invited him to a vacation Bible school. There he heard about Jesus. There he believed. And he never looked back. This makes no sense. People like to say the apple doesn't fall far from the tree. Well, this apple fell off the tree, rolled down the hill, got picked up by a pilot, and landed somewhere on another continent. Figuratively speaking, of course, his life is a monument to one simple truth. No family is beyond the reach of the grace of God. When Matthew opens his gospel, he doesn't begin with a miracle. He begins with a genealogy. Most of us will skim right over it, but if you slow down, you'll notice that Jesus' family tree isn't filled with polished saints. There are liars, adulterers, outcasts, a prostitute, a woman whose story began in tragedy, a king whose moral failure nearly destroyed a nation, and finally a young woman whose miraculous pregnancy became the subject of scandal before it became the story of our salvation. It's almost as though God wanted the very first page of the New Testament to whisper something we desperately need to hear. Grace has always been the family business. Your past may explain you. It does not have to define you. Your family history may shape your story. It doesn't have to write its ending. God isn't nearly as interested in where you've been as he is in what happens next. That's what grace does. It interrupts the expected story. It rewrites the ending. So never count yourself out. Never count your children out. Never count your parents out. Never count your family out. Because the God who redeemed Rahab, who restored David, who welcomed sinners into the family of Christ, is still writing stories like that today. He absolutely loves plot twists. Just read his book. It's always been about grace. So come close to that radical, merciful God. Take heart. Notice the scattered moments. And share the grace.
