A Thought For The Week Of February 23

"When Eber had lived 34 years, he became the father of Peleg. And after he became the father of Peleg, Eber lived 430 years and had other sons and daughters." (Genesis 11:16) For whatever reason, I've recently developed a bit of an interest in biblical genealogies. I'm not sure why. They're pretty dry readings. Some are in Genesis, as the descendants of Adam through to Abram are listed, some are the lists of the kings of Israel and Judah, and of course Matthew and Luke both include genealogies tracing the lineage of Jesus. I'm a firm believer that all passages of Scripture are worthwhile and have something to teach us - but sometimes the genealogies test that theory! The verse above is just one example? Who are Eber and Peleg anyway? And why does it matter? Truth be told - they're largely anonymous. Sure, we have names, but we know nothing about them except that they're found in the list of descent from Noah to Abram. And it occurred to me - maybe the fact that we know nothing about them is what's most important about them. I've heard it said that for some people - popular opinion aside - the greatest fear isn't death or public speaking; it's the fear that their lives don't matter, that they're insignificant and that they won't be much remembered when they're gone. The truth is that for most of us that's probably true. Most of us aren't going to be "great." Between Noah and Abram there's a huge number of names that just don't matter much to us, except that they get us from Noah to Abram. The same can be said as Jesus' lineage gets traced from David. Names that mean nothing to us - except that they're there. At the back of my church is a plaque that contains the names of every minister who's ever served this congregation. I looked at it. I noted the name of Rev. Charles Deacon, who served here from 1902-1906. He was the first minister who was here for more than 3 years. He had a ministry. He touched people's lives. He was with them for celebrations and for sorrows. And I think it very likely that no one connected to this church today knows anything about him except - and only if they've looked at the plaque in detail - that he used to be the minister of this congregation. But like the strange and unfamiliar names we find in the biblical genealogies - he was here; he's a part of the story. As am I. As are all of us, wherever we are. Maybe that's not such a bad fate when you think about it. We're all a part of God's story. We may not be great; we may not be remembered for too long once we leave this earth - but we're a part of God's story, and we'll never be forgotten by God, and for now we have the chance to touch lives and shape a little bit of the future through the lives we touch. Just like Eber and Peleg and Rev. Charles Deacon. And maybe that's not such a bad fate, after all!