May 2 - 1 Chronicles 6: A Part to Play

More lists of names, Levites in particular. And details of who was assigned to what duties and to what cities.

"The Book of Chronicles does just that - it chronicles. It chronicles names primarily...So what's the point, other than keeping the records straight?

Precisely this: Since the genealogy maintains an emphasis on the name at the same time that it fastens our attention on origins, it keeps the personal story from being absorbed into itself. Our own stories, as important as they are to us, are only fragments of the larger mosaic of redemption. Anytime we make them larger than they are, we make them less than they are, and we distort the larger story that God is telling.

But the lists are so tediously detailed, you may object in boredom...What's the point of this? Here's the point: In this larger story of salvation that God is telling, each and every person had a part to play, regardless of how small a part or how seemingly insignificant. And here's how that relates to you and me: If I have confidence that other people played a part in the larger story of salvation, I can live with confidence that I have a part to play as well.

Also, having gotten some of the details of my life tied into the story of salvation history, I no longer have to know the meaning of all the details. I don't have to know, at any given moment, the whole story if I'm convinced that there is a story and that my part in the story, regardless of how insignificant it may seem, isn't insignificant...The names in Chronicles are written into the messianic line. The total story is of the Messiah...but it's also a story in which people in the past are among the participants. However minor their parts were, they themselves were never insignificant. And neither are we." Eugene Peterson, Conversations, pg. 585

To be honest, today's reading didn't exactly grab my attention. But Peterson helped to put it in perspective for me.

As a stay-at-home mom now, with a one-year-old and a two-year-old, I often struggle with my part in the story. The endless wiping of noses and bottoms, perpetual feeding of children, and constant correcting of behavior wears me out. From this vantage point, my life before kids seems more significant and impactful for the Kingdom. And far more interesting and exciting to boot. (I showered a lot more often too. Who's got time for that now??)

Yet I absolutely believe there's a larger story that God is telling, so I remind myself daily that this is what God has for me. More importantly, it's what He's asking me to do today, and it's His best for me and for my family. I have to trust God with it because this whole motherhood thing doesn't come naturally to me. My selfishness frequently rears its ugly head and affects my attitude and emotions, so I have to choose to trust God that my part to play in His story is not insignificant or unimportant.

And a better understanding of the purpose of all of these genealogies helps me embrace my part today.