Today’s Readings: Psalm 72; Genesis 30:1-24; Luke 1:57-66; Acts 15:22-29; Psalm 145
I draw great strength from the stories of our faith that remind us how God can be present and work through circumstances that are less than ideal. Today’s passage from Genesis is a good example of this. In the passage, we are told the story of how Jacob came to have eight of his children (the birth of his first four sons was mentioned at the end of Genesis 29). Now given Jacob’s standing in our faith tradition, you would expect the circumstances of those births to be extremely noble, right? Wrong! The pregnancies were instead fueled by petty jealousies and insecurities. In spite of those questionable beginnings, however, Jacob’s sons went on to become the heads of what would become the tribes of Israel. This reminds me of the transformative presence God can have in our lives: how things that are initially born out of our own shortcomings can blossom and grow into things we would never imagine. As you survey the landscape of your life, perhaps you’ve personally experienced this dynamic. Today I would encourage you to take a moment and see if there are remaining aspects of your life that you would consider inviting God’s transformative presence into – aspects that had less than noble beginnings. If you take that dramatic step and invite God’s presence into those embarrassing or uncomfortable places, you just might be surprised what those areas of your life blossom into and become. Til next time…
I draw great strength from the stories of our faith that remind us how God can be present and work through circumstances that are less than ideal. Today’s passage from Genesis is a good example of this. In the passage, we are told the story of how Jacob came to have eight of his children (the birth of his first four sons was mentioned at the end of Genesis 29). Now given Jacob’s standing in our faith tradition, you would expect the circumstances of those births to be extremely noble, right? Wrong! The pregnancies were instead fueled by petty jealousies and insecurities. In spite of those questionable beginnings, however, Jacob’s sons went on to become the heads of what would become the tribes of Israel. This reminds me of the transformative presence God can have in our lives: how things that are initially born out of our own shortcomings can blossom and grow into things we would never imagine. As you survey the landscape of your life, perhaps you’ve personally experienced this dynamic. Today I would encourage you to take a moment and see if there are remaining aspects of your life that you would consider inviting God’s transformative presence into – aspects that had less than noble beginnings. If you take that dramatic step and invite God’s presence into those embarrassing or uncomfortable places, you just might be surprised what those areas of your life blossom into and become. Til next time…
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