Guest Blogger: Jeremy Gardner
There are certain Bible names that never quite make it to the most common baby names every year.
Some are just too hard to spell, i.e. Nebuchadnezzar and Jehoiakim.
Other names are too villainous, i.e Cain, Jezebel and Judas (that is like naming your child Megatron).
In Jesus’ family tree there are a few names that stand out for good reason: Abraham, Isaac, David, Solomon…
And there are some names who catch your attention for another set of reasons: Tamar, Bathsheba, Rahab…
Wait! Rahab? The lying prostitute? How did she get in there? It must be a typo.
In Joshua 2, Rahab is a prostitute living in Jericho, in the land promised to the Israelites. Two Israelite spies are sent to check out Jericho and when word of their presence gets out to the authorities in Jericho, their lives are in danger. Rahab hides them on her roof behind some hay (apparently the authorities in Jericho did not play much hide-and-seek growing up), putting her life in danger as well. In response to her courageous act, the Israelite spies vow that she and her family will be spared when the Israelites come to conquer Jericho.
They hold up their end of the deal and the rest is history. The Israelites take control of Jericho and then control the Promised Land of Canaan. But history does not end there…
Rahab is mentioned in Hebrews 11 with faithful giants like Abraham and Moses and again in James 2 for living out her faith, but the story is even bigger than that: she is listed in Matthew 1 as part of the lineage of Jesus Christ. She is part of a bigger story.
Our past decisions do not condemn us to a life of insignificance, the bible is full of people who break free from the sins of their past to be used mightily by God. Rehab was used in spite of her past to pave the way for the greatest story in human history.
You see, after she was spared, she ended up marrying an Israelite man from the tribe of Judah. She became the great-great grandmother of King David, and therefore, the 27th great grandmother of Joseph, Jesus’ father.
The rest, as they say, is history.
Your story, as small and seemingly insignificant as it may appear, is part of a bigger story.
Your role on a mission trip is far from insignificant.
You may not be able to see it, but you can trust the Truth that there is something bigger happening.
Your name may never be well known, it may never make it to the most common baby names…
but it will show up somewhere… somewhere much more important.
You are making a way for Jesus.
As you look over your trips or small acts of obedience in your life, what evidence can you see that there is a bigger story playing out around you?
