When people believe their highlight reel of being "pretty good", rather than the sinners which we all truly are, they see no need for a Savior. This is probably the most common reason that the majority of people will not seek a personal Savior. Those outside the faith never seek God's grace, or His unmerited favor extended towards us, sinners. Those within the faith, though having received salvation through grace, often begin feeling "pretty good" once again due to works in the Christian faith and render themselves useless for God, wearing their masks of "pretty goodness" instead of continuing to rely on His grace. Due to this it is easy to become judgmental instead of becoming ministers of His grace to everyone else. But the Bible does not hide the fact that outside of Jesus, it contains the history, God's history, played out through the lives of one sinner after another.

As we read through this enormous list of names and genealogies, we should not miss the transparency in these records. These records were crucial for many things, including tracing the history of the future Messiah from Abraham, through Judah and through David, as continued in the genealogies of Jesus in Matthew 1 through Joseph, the step-father of Jesus, and in Luke 3, through Mary, which established the bloodline of the future Messiah. Notice what is included in these genealogies, the sinful proof of the imperfect lives of these men in Scripture. We read in 1 Chronicles 1:29-31 of the family if Ishmael, the offspring of Abraham's poor decision to father a child through Hagar. We read 1:31-37, of the descendants of Esau, the carnal offspring of Isaac. We read in 2:3 of the life of Judah, "The sons of Judah were Er, Onan, and Shelah. These three were born to him by the daughter of Shua, the Canaanitess. Er, the firstborn of Judah, was wicked in the sight of the Lord; so He killed him" Judah in the lineage of Jesus, married a pagan worshiper, and produced children who did evil. In 3:9, we read of King David, "These were all the sons of David, besides the sons of the concubines, and Tamar their sister." This short history of David illustrates his polygamy and involvement with concubines. Throughout much of the remainder of this genealogy, besides the names, is detailed the many flaws of the people: "But Judah was carried away captive to Babylon because of their unfaithfulness" (9:1), "So Saul died for his unfaithfulness which he had committed against the Lord, because he did not keep the word of the Lord, and also because he consulted a medium for guidance."(10:13).

So, how do we tell our stories. Do we edit the truth of our own histories to present ourselves in a more favorable light? Do we avoid mentioning past mistakes or family issues which might paint us in a more unfavorable light? God has always used broken vessels to be used by Him. He trained Joseph 14 years as recorded in Genesis before he rose to second in command. He trained Moses forty years in the desert, after previous mistakes, so he would be humble and usable for Him for his last forty years. He anointed David king fifteen years prior to his becoming king, with 15 years of trials and tribulation to prepare him for this position. Our story is our story, both the good and the bad. The openness we are willing to express in how we present ourselves before others could make the difference in whether another will open their eyes and sensitize their hearts to enter into a relationship with Jesus Christ, their only hope of salvation. We are all deeply flawed, and the candidness of Scripture should empower all of us to take off our masks of "pretty goodness" and reach out to a world that does not yet know Jesus.