I should have warned “Spoiler Alert!” when beginning Rahab’s story with her inclusion in Matthew’s genealogy. Who would have guessed a former prostitute would play so great a role in God’s kingdom? It’s shocking someone who broke the seventh commandment for a living married into the royal tribe of Judah and became a mother to the Messiah.  

Many women in our classrooms, offices, and families are like Rahab. They have swapped a sinful past to become part of God’s family. However, women who have turned from their sexual sins can have a hard time fitting into churches today. They may hide their history of abortions on “Sanctity of Life Sunday,” find it awkward to introduce their illegitimate children at VBS, be too afraid to confess same sex attraction to a Bible study friend, or avoid women in church who know about their “wild” high school years.  

And churches can be tactless when talking about sexual sins. We whisper or cringe, making them too shameful to bring up in our sermons or small group discussions. Getting help for a struggle with pornography, lust, homosexuality, promiscuity, or an emotional affair can feel like a pretty risky move. After all, many Christians tend to steer clear of those with the stigma of sexual sins.

But Jesus did not steer clear. He talked to the woman (with a dicey history) at the well (John 4). He welcomed the touch of the sinful woman washing His feet (Luke 7). He spoke for the woman caught in adultery (John 8). Jesus brought these women into His story just like God included Rahab in His redemptive story centuries earlier. Like Joshua protected her when she chose God’s people as her own. Like Salmon, who chose Rahab as his wife, valued her heart of faith despite her body with a past.  

If you, like Rahab, have embraced a new life in Christ but have a history of looking to sex for your security or identity, I hope you feel included, too. You are not a second-class citizen of Heaven because of your past. Sing loud in worship, greet newcomers with joy, and jump in as you tell others about the good news of the gospel.

And if you tense up over the idea that Matthew included a hooker in his list of Jesus’s ancestors, ask yourself Why? After all, Jesus associates with the broken, even when that brokenness looks like a checkered past. No X-rated sin can outweigh God’s forgiveness or should exclude a forgiven woman from finding her home in the middle of God’s community.

So, whether God meets you in your version of a Jericho red light district as He did with Rahab or meets you in your childhood home as He did the Virgin Mary, embrace (another spoiler alert!) what Scripture says about how all our stories end. Ephesians 2:21 tells us God makes us all into a holy temple, and Psalm 144:12 describes us – all redeemed women – as strong and beautiful columns in this temple, providing support and structure. 

It’s a spoiler alert that’s great to hear!

Your forgiven friend,