Last month I had the chance to return to my home area and visit with old friends and relatives. While talking with my nephew I pointed to his two boys, one four and the other less than a year, and told him to make sure he taught them about their great-grandfather. Dad was one of my heroes. I would hope that the world would never forget him.
From time to time someone in the family will work on our family tree and uncover a new bit of information here or there. 1 Chronicles 1 is a researcher’s dream. It doesn’t give a lot of personal information about each person, but it quickly lays out the family history.
To contrast 1 Chronicles with John 12 might not make sense at first, but there is a connection. In John 12:21 (NAS) — These then came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida of Galilee, and began to ask him, saying, “Sir, we wish to see Jesus.” Did you catch it? “We wish to see Jesus.” That same request is made daily by the world of His followers today. In us they wish to see Jesus.
How can they see Jesus in us unless we have learned of Him to the point that we emulate Him in our everyday life? When the world sees Jesus in us, it’s not a performance—it is an automatic reflection of who we have become under His care.
Study of our ancestors will only satisfy our selfish curiosity. Study of the one who saved us and keeps us in God’s grace can lead us and others to an eternity with the Father. Now that is real satisfaction.