FAITHFUL TO THE FAITHLESS

God is merciful, gracious, and kind to us. He is loving, and He invites everyone to be part of His kingdom. He allows us the opportunity to choose and serve Him, and even when we resist Him, He still lovingly takes care and watch over us.

A good example of His love can be seen in the life of Jacob, who was a twin born to Isaac and Rebekah. In Jacob’s early years he was known to be a trickster, a liar, and a manipulator. The Bible records his first encounter with God in Genesis 28 when he is on his way Padanaram. God said to him, “I am the Lord God of Abraham thy father, and the God of Isaac: the land whereon thou liest, to thee will I give it, and to thy seed. And thy seed shall be as the dust of the earth, and thou shalt spread abroad to the west, and to the east, and to the north, and to the south: and in thee and in thy seed shall all the families of the earth be blessed. And, behold, I am with thee, and will keep thee in all places whither thou goest, and will bring thee again into this land; for I will not leave thee, until I have done that which I have spoken to thee of.” Please note that God tells Jacob He is the God of his father and grandfather; Jacob was not included in this connection, for he did not have a relationship with God. Despite the lack of relationship, God talks to Jacob and tells him about his future and the divine protection that he will receive. Jacob’s response was not the kind I expected, but rather, he responded, giving God a contingency. He said, “If God will be with me, and will keep me in this way that I go, and will give me bread to eat, and raiment to put on, So that I come again to my father’s house in peace; then shall the Lord be my God: And this stone, which I have set for a pillar, shall be God’s house: and of all that thou shalt give me I will surely give the tenth unto thee.”

Between Genesis 29 and 31 twenty years goes by, Jacob gets married, has eleven sons and one daughter and has lived these years in Pandanaram working for his father-in-law Laban. During these years, God blesses Jacob and remains faithful to him despite the minimal interaction Jacob has with Him.

In Genesis 31 God told Jacob, “Return unto the land of thy fathers, and to thy kindred; and I will be with thee,” and in Genesis 35 Jacob has returned home and God says to him, “Arise, go up to Bethel, and dwell there: and make there an altar unto God, that appeared unto thee when thou fleddest from the face of Esau thy brother.” When Jacob gets to Bethel God once again appears to him, blesses him, reiterates those things that he told him twenty years ago and He changes Jacob’s name to Israel.

During all the years Jacob was away, God remained faithful to the faithless. In the many perilous situations in which Jacob found himself, God delivered him. Additionally, God prospered him and blessed him even without any acknowledgment or gratitude from Jacob.

On today I don’t want to be found in the category that Jacob was in: faithless. Neither do I want my interaction with God to be one-sided. I want to bless Him and love Him as He loves me. I want to communicate with Him daily and receive His guidance. I want Him to consider me a faithful servant, and I want Him to be pleased with me, and as I close this blog, I pray that you feel the same as I do.