Genesis 11:10-15: a reflection

10This is the history of the generations of Shem: Shem was one hundred years old when he became the father of Arpachshad two years after the flood. 11Shem lived five hundred years after he became the father of Arpachshad, and became the father of more sons and daughters. 12Arpachshad lived thirty-five years and became the father of Shelah. 13Arpachshad lived four hundred three years after he became the father of Shelah, and became the father of more sons and daughters. 14Shelah lived thirty years, and became the father of Eber. 15Shelah lived four hundred three years after he became the father of Eber, and became the father of more sons and daughters.

This passage is a genealogy, tracing the line from Shem down through the generations: Arpachshad, Shelah, Eber, and on, each becoming the father of the next. Most of these names are unknown to us; we know nothing of their lives, their deeds, their struggles. They did nothing famous, left no great mark that history records. Yet each was a link in the line that God was carrying forward, the line that would lead, in time, to Abraham, and through him to the fulfillment of God's promise. God's purpose advanced through these ordinary, unremarkable lives.

Notice how God's purpose advanced through ordinary, unremarkable lives. The people in this genealogy were not famous or great; they lived, had children, and died, leaving no record but their names in a list. Yet each was a link in the line God was carrying forward toward his promise; without each of them, the line would not have continued. God's great purpose was being worked out through these ordinary lives, each an unremarkable but necessary link in the chain that led to the fulfillment of his promise. The unremarkable were each part of God's unfolding plan.

That is worth taking to heart, for our own ordinary, unremarkable lives can be links in God's purpose. We can feel that our lives are too ordinary to matter, that unless we do something famous or great we have no part in God's plan; but God's purpose advanced through generations of unremarkable people, each a necessary link. Your life, ordinary and unremarkable as it may seem, can be a link in God's purposes, a part of what he is carrying forward, though you do nothing the world would call great. Do not despise your ordinary life as too unremarkable to matter to God's purpose; God works his purposes through ordinary lives, each a link in his plan, as the unremarkable generations from Shem were links in the line that led to his promise. Be a faithful link in God's purpose in your own ordinary life, trusting that he works through the unremarkable, as he carried his purpose forward through generations whose names alone remain.

Lord, this passage is a genealogy, tracing the line from Shem down through the generations, each becoming the father of the next. Most of these names are unknown to us; we know nothing of their lives, their deeds. They did nothing famous, left no great mark that history records. Yet each was a link in the line that you were carrying forward, the line that would lead, in time, to Abraham, and through him to the fulfillment of your promise. Your purpose advanced through these ordinary, unremarkable lives. Show me how your purpose advanced through ordinary lives. The people in this genealogy were not famous or great; they lived, had children, and died, leaving no record but their names. Yet each was a link in the line you were carrying forward; without each of them, the line would not have continued. Your great purpose was being worked out through these ordinary lives. Take that to my heart, for my own ordinary, unremarkable life can be a link in your purpose. I can feel that my life is too ordinary to matter, that unless I do something famous or great I have no part in your plan; but your purpose advanced through generations of unremarkable people. My life, ordinary as it may seem, can be a link in your purposes, though I do nothing the world would call great. Keep me from despising my ordinary life as too unremarkable to matter to your purpose; you work your purposes through ordinary lives, Lord. Help me be a faithful link in your purpose in my own ordinary life, trusting that you work through the unremarkable.