Luke / chapter 3 (read the chapter)
I really like how Luke presents the genealogy of Jesus in this chapter. He gets all the way down to the very end (or beginning, depending on how you want to look at it) and says, “. . . the son of Enosh, the son of Seth, the son of Adam, the son of God.” (vs 38) I love that Luke didn’t stop with Adam. That would have probably been the intuitive thing to do, but instead, he identifies God as the progenitor of the human race, and I think that signifies something important.
It may not be the most profound thing ever, but it’s important.
We are all descended from God. He is our Father. Not Adam, not Noah, not Abraham, not Moses. He is the very beginning—the root, the seed of the entire human family. We are all the sons and daughters of God.
I think it’s even more interesting that Luke writes this genealogy immediately after his account of the baptism of Jesus, in which the Father said, “You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased.” (vs 22) Yet right after this, it is Adam who is listed in the genealogy as “son of God,” not Jesus.
That’s a surprise.
But, to me, it says something wonderful about God. Actually, two things. First, it says that God has a big family. Every single one of us is a precious son or daughter of His, and He really loves us, just as a good earthly parent loves his children. God isn’t some distant, detached deity who doesn’t care. He cares more than we can imagine, because each of us is an irreplaceable, deeply loved child.
Second, it says that God was willing to put Himself on par with His human family. By becoming a human, Jesus completely identified Himself with us, and He has now carried humanity into the highest heaven. No longer are we separated from God; rather, there is a human being seated on the heavenly throne!
The Father called Jesus His son, and He also calls Adam His son, and He also calls you His son or daughter. That means, no matter how things look in your earthly family, no matter if you’re accepted or rejected, no matter if there’s not another human soul to whom you belong, you belong to God.
You are His precious child.
