THE FAMILY ALBUM – By Rev. Tope Popoola
Abraham, a Mesopotamian idolater who twice ‘lied’ to protect himself
His son Isaac who cherished the taste of pepper-soup above his children’s destiny
Waoh! see Jacob whose name as supplanter was shaping his outcomes until God stepped in
Ah! Look at Judah in that corner
That one who craved illicit romps in prostitutes’ beds until one turned out to be his daughter-in-law
Pharez, product of a one-night-stand between father-in-law and daughter-in-law
Oh! I can see David, shepherd minstrel and Commander-in-Chief who took over his soldier’s wife and covered it up with the innocent man’s murder.
And Solomon! The one who could not manage success! Three hundred wives and seven hundred concubines!
Only God knows what aphrodisiac sustained such beastly concupiscence
What on earth is he doing in this album?
I thought this was supposed to be a most glorious assemblage?
What kind of characters are these?
And these women? How did they get into the picture?
Thamar, who feigned prostitution to seduce a philandering father-in-law
Whaaaat? Rahab, courtesan to city elders with deep pockets
How did she get here?
And Bathsheba, “her that had been the wife of Urias”
I see you put your nose in the air and sneer, “This is one heck of an album!”
But be reminded, this is the tapestry of the Savior’s ancestry!
If you were God and you were writing the story of your venture into the realm of time in the flesh
Would you have admitted or identified with this ‘inglorious’ lineage to birth a purpose so glorious?
Would you have permitted their being mentioned in Messiah’s lineage?
Would you have committed to the documentation in such graphic details?
Seriously, would you?
What kind of Savior would come from such ‘tainted’ lineage?
But thank God, you are not God
And neither am I!
He came through “damaged goods”
To reinforce His plan of fixing the broken
He chose the weak to demonstrate His power
He chose the despised to show His glory
He became High Priest because He came through our infirmities
He chose men to show He didn’t come for angels
He came as man so man could become as HIM
How bad is your story?
Bad enough to earn men’s sneers and neighbors’ jeers?
Awful enough to make your head bowed in shame, unable to greet a new day with zeal?
Tossed aside from having been so tossed around?
Just come with the fragments of your broken life
Surrender every little detail into His skillful hands
Watch Him weave it into the tapestry of His story
Every line written in indelible lines of love dipped in blood. His blood
Filling each chapter with His glory as He brings beauty out of your ashes
Rewriting mournful looks into dancing steps, ululations into joyful expressions
For He did not come to save angels, but the seed of Abraham
It’s a curious album alright.
But that’s the only way it could have accommodated YOU!
Remember, the sky is not your limit, God is!
