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Scripture Reading — Genesis 25:19-26
“Two nations are in your womb ... and the older will serve the younger.” Genesis 25:23
Sometimes instead of counting our blessings — we can point out the disappointments in our lives! Asking the age old question ... . WHY? I’m reminded of small children standing toe to toe with an adult and asking a question — as simple as... “Can I have a popsicle?” The adult replies “no, not right now” and then it begins - “Why?” If the adult believes they are going to end this conversation with a logical response — I would like to be there to hear! As a kid I remember asking my Mom a question, I don’t remember what I asked; I do remember where we were standing. I also remember her final replay that ended the short conversation. When I gave her the first “why”; I heard “Why not?” So, when we are focused on our disappointments and wondering, why God? Think, “why not”? Do we think we deserve a challenge free life? God didn’t promise us “easy sailing, He did promise he would be in the boat with us! Have we ever considered that maybe ... just maybe some of the disappointments we have experienced are the result of our own choices?
The Bible offers us examples of the same challenges we deal with today, 2020. Obviously the customs are different, but the human desires are the same. In Genesis 25 we read about Jacob and Esau, twins that God described to their mother as “Two nations are in your womb ... and the older will serve the younger.” Jacob was the younger twin, quick thinking and seeking the best in life. Jacob’s quickness served him well. He outwitted Esau when it mattered most, and he profited handsomely.
Jacob’s quickness came at a price. His mother had always known there would be conflict stirring between her sons. She’d been warned about it by God himself. No matter how things played out, theirs would not be a peaceful life.
It seems that God’s desire was not that Jacob would have riches, but that his life would be rich with the kind of blessing that can’t be won through a swindle.
But for Jacob to receive that blessing, he would need to slow down. And that wasn’t going to be easy!
What about us, right now in 2020? Have we been slowed down long enough by the restrictions established around us and for us during the pandemic that we now take the time to look at our “have and have not” list in a different way? Like Jacob the riches we long for are out-weighed by a rich life filling with blessings. The kind of blessing that can’t be won through a swindle.
Prayer
God, we often scramble, like Jacob, for first place. Slow us down so we can receive what you long to give us; in Jesus, Amen.
Pastor Dorothy Hotchkiss of Webster’s Crossing UMC and Groveland Federated Parish.
dhotch2@frontiernet.net 585/406-7030 cell/text
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