Apprentice 2 Jesus

Jacob is a story out of the Old Testament that can resonate with me. He is a man who is always striving, trying to get ahead on his own, trying to grab a piece of the pie he thinks he has been denied.

He is an opportunist. When Esau was hungry and Jacob knew the man worried more about eating than anything else, he traded Esau the birthright for a bowl of soup.

When Isaac was ready to die and give the blessing, he stole the opportunity from Esau and grabbed the blessing for himself.

He was always making a deal. Even when God shows up in the dream at Bethel (Gen. 28:10-22), Jacob is ready to make a deal. He has not yet learned to rest on God alone.

Jacob is me.

I beat myself up constantly over missed opportunities. I fret over lack of effectiveness in ministry. There is striving in my life trying to “make my church grow.” My mind whirls as I attempt to “figure things out.”

The story of Jacob’s ladder is important. God shows up with the unconditional promises of Abraham. This is a “unilateral” covenant, meaning Jacob has to do nothing on his end of the bargain. This is all about the mercy of God. It’s a powerful covenant.

And Jacob makes a deal! “If God will get me out of this mess and bring me back here, THEN I will serve him.”

The story is important because it demonstrates the power of the Kingdom of God. It is discovered again in the Sermon on the Mount, in the section on the Beatitudes. What Jesus is saying in those verses is that no one is beyond Kingdom blessing. The Kingdom can touch you right where you are.

That is good news. I can mess up so many things, but God’s mercy can still touch me. I may not have all the answers, and I may have messed up the answers I did have, yet God’s mercy can still come down and touch me. God was not waiting for Jacob to make the first move. God moved in his mercy to touch Jacob.

God can move in his mercy to touch me. He can pour his mercy out in my worst situation. Healing can flow. Deliverance is possible. It is allowing his Kingdom to come and touch. Jacob wouldn’t realize that for years to come. He would spend many more years in striving and conniving.

We need not go that route. We often do. I feel like I still do. It just doesn’t need to go that way!