My Future Kin

I was chatting online with an old friend of mine today. We were catching up on what is going on in each our lives. He told me about his life, work, goals he has for himself and how happy he is with his girlfriend.

I love hearing about folk who are in fulfilling relationships.

So as he was telling me about how he feels he said something that was like wow…

“I can’t wait to have kids.”

Huh?

I sure can.

After recovering from the shock of how easily he rattled that off, and feeling old in the process, I was like really? Why is that?

He mentioned some really cool reasons, especially how certain myths that he had about parenthood were dispelled for him. But the thing that snagged my attention the most was this:

Having a child is like throwing your chips in. I’m not sure if that’s the right expression but it’s like you have a stake in the world, and you have an opportunity to really make it a better place by raising good kids (paraphrase).

And you know what… he’s right.

At times I have looked at the state of affairs in the world and thought… geez… do I want to bring a child into this?

But if you have a child, how much more invested are you in making the world a better place. It’s not just for you, but also for the ones you love most; the ones who will be here to carry on the good work when you’re gone.

Clearly this isn’t a reason to have a child, but it spoke to my heart.

At the end of Genesis Jacob/Israel gives the final blessings for his sons. He tells each one what will come of them and their descendents. It’s not good news for all of them… but I can’t imagine how proud he must have been to die an old man surrounded by so much family and love.

In them he saw the seeds of God fulfilling His promise.

I’ve recently started to feel that desire to have kids and this reading and conversation with my friend brought it back to the front of my mind.

All things in due time though… My season will come.

Today’s Reading: Genesis 49-50; Matthew 13: 31-58

Karma Gotcha!

When morning came, there was Leah! So Jacob said to Laban, "What is this you have done to me? I served you for Rachel, didn't I? Why have you deceived me?"

Laban replied, "It is not our custom here to give the younger daughter in marriage before the older one. Finish this daughter's bridal week; then we will give you the younger one also, in return for another seven years of work." Genesis 29: 25-27




Today's Reading: Genesis 29-30; Matthew 9:1-17




Whew... Talk about the ultimate okeydoke. That was so unacceptable.

So we left off with Jacob being shade shiest to his brother by not only stealing his birthright but also the blessing that Isaac had intended for Esau. Esau by this point is so furious that he’s talking out loud about killing Jacob. So, their mother worked out a way for Jacob to skip town.

Smart woman.

She sends him back to her home town under the auspices of finding a wife. And just as he arrives at the well who is the woman that he sees… none other than a fetching lass named Rachel.

He’s smitten and as a result agrees to work for her father, Laban, for seven years in exchange for Rachel as his wife when the seven years are up.

How chivalrous was that?

He puts in seven years hard labor for his prize. Then finally, it’s time to pay up. But, the night of the wedding Laban slips the not so fresh daughter in to the marital chambers and Jacob “lays” with her. I have several questions here:

1. How did Jacob not know he was with the stand in?
2. Did she wear a veil the entire night?
3. Where was Rachel during the ceremony?
4. What? How? When? What????

(any bible scholars with nifty answers here please chime in.)

But this isn’t really my point. My point here is that Jacob the trickster got his comeuppance.

The hustler has been hustled. Score one point for karma.

Ok I know that using a word like that is tough for many of my Christian folk especially since it doesn’t show up explicitly in the Bible and comes from another religious heritage but the concept is all over the text and we will see it many more times throughout this year.

Generally speaking we receive what we dish out.

In Matthew chapter 7 we see the positive side of this concept from Jesus as an overarching law to help govern our lives.

So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets. – Genesis 7:12

Jesus doesn’t tell us why in the next line. He keeps it moving. But this story of Jacob shows us how this can go terribly wrong. Jacob acted foul to Esau and as a result he was treated foul by Laban.

Here’s the connection… If Jacob hadn’t been so foul to Esau he never would have been forced to move into Laban’s household. He never would have worked for him nor been in the position to stay there for a long time.

Even if he did go back to get a wife, why wouldn’t Isaac have done it the way his father did it for him? Fetch a servant, sit him on a camel, and tell him to get to steppin’ and don’t come back without a bride for the boy.

But no, Jacob got himself exiled by his actions and therefore was put in a vulnerable position that Laban could exploit.

And exploit it he did.

Jesus didn’t say that this kind of retribution for our actions is guaranteed… but hey… if Jacob is any kind of example, it’s better to follow Jesus’ advice than not to. Odds are that life will be much easier this way.

Lemonade

Once when Jacob was cooking some stew, Esau came in from the open country, famished. He said to Jacob, "Quick, let me have some of that red stew! I'm famished!" (That is why he was also called Edom.)

Jacob replied, "First sell me your birthright."

"Look, I am about to die," Esau said. "What good is the birthright to me?"

But Jacob said, "Swear to me first." So he swore an oath to him, selling his birthright to Jacob.

Then Jacob gave Esau some bread and some lentil stew. He ate and drank, and then got up and left.
So Esau despised his birthright. – Genesis 25: 29-34

Today's Reading: Genesis 25-26; Matthew 8: 1-17

Esau was Jacob’s twin brother…

Shady.

How are you gonna hustle your own brother out of his birthright with some bread and stew? Would you treat your family this way?

Ok… maybe some of us feel like it sometimes… especially with a dummy like Esau. It seems like he would have sold it to anyone for a coke and a smile but geez… talk about a dysfunctional family.

What’s interesting is that later on in the story Jacob ends up being the father of the twelve tribes of Israel and a great man of faith.

The cool thing about the beginning of the Jacob story and several others is that we constantly see that God does a good job of turning lemons into lemonade.

Life isn’t so much about where you’ve been. It’s more about the actions and decisions we make today that determine where we are going.

Yes, I do believe that there is a cost that we pay for the things that we do in this life (we will see Jacob pay in full in the next few chapters) but it really feels good to know that a lot of the cool kids in the Bible didn’t start off so nice and sweet. Many started off like Jacob did… as people you wouldn’t trust farther than you could throw them.

But, with persistent faith they became great people who accomplished great things that they never could have imagined.

So when we make mistakes and don’t live up to the potential that we see in ourselves it is important to remember to forgive ourselves and make a conscious effort to do better today and in the future. . If we don’t, then we end up holding ourselves back from being the best that we can be.

Guilt is the strangest of bedfellows.