Dear Christa—
From
Genesis to Now: Finally Home Genesis 35: 8-29
After many long years, Jacob finally returns home—his real home where
his father lives. Just because Jacob put away the idols that his family had
followed and set off to do what God wanted, it did not mean that things would
go well for him.
On his way, Rebekah’s nurse, Deborah died. Rachel dies in childbirth and
is buried along the way, never to meet her father-in-law Isaac. Reuben, his
eldest, sleeps with Rachel’s servant (Jacob’s concubine). What a relief it must
have been to at last see his father’s face, even in his sorrow. And surely it
brought joy and relief to Isaac to once again see the face of a son who’d been
absent for so many years. But, the homecoming was shadowed by the events that
had followed Jacob’s decision to follow God wholly.
Following God doesn’t mean life gets easier. But, it does mean that
there’s a God in heaven. It means He cares for us. It means what happens has
purpose, and we know it. And now that Jesus has come and the Holy Spirit the Comforter
has come, we surely don’t walk the dark days of earth alone. There is strength
for each day. And as each day folds into another and another, we too will
eventually arrive home to see our Father’s face—not a father with old human
hands, but God Himself, who knows the purpose behind each sorrowful and
jubilant step we’ve taken.
It’s good to be home.
—the parishioner who doesn’t do
anything
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