“Grace, even to the undeserving”
By Rev. Michael Stonhouse
Meditation – Friday, February 11, 2022
Genesis 27:46-28:4,10-22 (Forward, p. 13) CEV p. 27
Sometimes I am far less than my ‘ideal self’, like the time that one of our Men’s Shelter clients complained about the fact that they seldom had steak at the Shelter--even to the point of going to the mayor to express his discontent. I’m afraid that my sentiments were far less than noble, and lots of unkind and derogatory words were said (or thought) about his lack of gratitude and about his seemingly ingrained sense of entitlement. To me, he certainly did not deserve all the care that he received there at the Shelter.
As I look at the life of Jacob, I would certainly have to say the same. Given his wheeling and dealing ways, his conniving and his trickery and downright deceit at times, he scarcely deserved the grace of God. Just look at him in today’s story: he is heading off to Haran in northern Syria simply because his mother is afraid for his life. (The fact that his father Isaac wanted him to find a wife while he was there came a bit later). No, basically, he is fleeing for his life because of what he has done to his brother Esau. He is anything but deserving. He is a spoiled, deceitful brat, the pampered favourite and darling of his mother but nobody else.
And yet God deigns to show Himself to him, give him a glimpse of heaven, and inaugurate an incredible covenant with him. Yes, to someone who was totally undeserving. And yet, is that not what God does with each of us? Indeed, is that not what grace is all about—the undeserved, unmerited favour of God? None of us ‘deserve’ His love, His goodness, His help, His blessings, and yet He deigns to bestow it upon all of us. All that we have to do is to receive it. Such is the incredible grace of God. Amen.
Forward notes: “Then Jacob woke from his sleep and said, ‘Surely the LORD is in this place—and I did not know it!’” (verse 16)
“I have sometimes struggled with periods of spiritual distance, where I feel like I am looking at God through soundproof aquarium glass. I can see God—I know that God is still there—but I can’t hear God. This feeling usually makes me reluctant to pray, which makes it even harder for me to hear God’s voice. Trying to trust in God while God’s voice seems so muffled can be very difficult—and very lonely.
“Yet, even when I am impatient, these times always come to an end. After weeks or months of longing to feel God’s presence, I wake up one morning like Jacob and realize that God has been present all along.
“It comforts me to realize that even Jacob, one of the great patriarchs of Scripture, didn’t always sense God’s presence. It took a vivid dream to help him understand that God was with him in the desert. Just as God found a way to get through to Jacob, I know God will always find a way to get through to me, even when my faith is weak.”
MOVING FORWARD: “Are you having difficulty seeing God in your life? Reread this story from Genesis and take comfort in the constant presence of God.”
