Be in that Number

Why do I like to number things? I’m not really sure. I think it’s because I like numbers and data.

I can tell you exactly how many miles I have run this year and how many miles I have ridden my bike and exactly how many hours it took, thanks to GPS technology. Hey, some of us like are like that!

God is into numbers! There are numerous examples of it. There is even a whole book called "Numbers."

Matthew 1 has an interesting genealogy of Jesus, as does Luke. Matthew sums his up in a rather tidy numerical way.

Matthew 1:17 — Thus there were fourteen generations in all from Abraham to David, fourteen from David to the exile to Babylon, and fourteen from the exile to the Christ.

More interesting to me than the number is who is in that number. There are lots of flawed, deeply flawed people, people who did some really terrible and terribly immoral things, yet they turned back to a God who loved and loves them.

Matthew’s genealogy, strategically placed before the birth of Jesus, invites all of us, no matter what we have done, to understand God has come to us and is with us. Immanuel. Jesus came to save us from our sins.

Lord, I want to be in that number!