We search our family trees looking for famous ancestors—presidents, war heroes, movie stars, athletes. Instead, we often find ancestors who are infamous—criminals, deserters, rascals, losers. One thing is for sure. Your family tree looks no better and it looks no worse than the genealogy of Jesus. His family tree includes glorious kings and decadent sinners. This provides an interesting perspective, which should help us avoid being too proud or too embarrassed about the family members who came before us. You may be wondering why all this talk about family trees is important. Why does the New Testament start with a list of names? Why are so many chapters in the Old Testament devoted to ancestry? Two reasons come to mind. First, the family tree provides historical legitimacy to the Christmas story and the prophecies fulfilled by the birth of Jesus. Second, by looking at the kind of people Jesus came from, we can see the kind of people Jesus came for. Regardless of your past, Jesus came for you. And that is the gift that will never stop giving.