Bibledoorajar Approaches Esau with Jacob

     Our journey with Jacob continues. God has been teaching him that even though He had gifted Jacob with great human capability, ultimately he can only accomplish his spiritual destiny with God's help.  It was quite a wrestling contest, but because of God's power,  Jacob fell on Him unable to do anything else at that time in his own strength.  So strong was Jacob's natural self, God had to touch his thigh to limit him.  Experts tell us that a human's thigh is the strongest muscle in the body. If our thighs are diseased or injured, we become handicapped and our natural ability is limited. His story tells us this: 1) it is not natural to rest upon the promises of God; 2) enjoying a life with Christ is a learning process, and, 3) we can only be truly transformed to God's pleasure with the help of the Holy Spirit. So the story repeats. As John said, "I must decrease and He must increase." To do this we must submit to the process and learn to really enjoy this place of faith and, like Jacobm we must submit our fears to God. Jacob was afraid Esau would not only kill him but also his sons and their mothers. Jacob was not aware that he was wrong. He was not believing God completely.
     Yesterday afternoon, we took our 10 year old niece (who is quite bright and mature for her age in many ways) to see Grace Unplugged, a new Christian film. In the film, Grace had been raised in church and raised by godly parents. She had been gifted with a beautiful voice and she craved stardom. Her parents wanted her to serve God with her talent. As the story played out, it became clear that Grace had been exposed repeatedly to the promises of God, but she had never learned to own them as her own. Wondering why things were going so wrong, she had some moments to reflect on her relationship with God. What followed was realization, repentance and acceptance of God's ways.
Any Christian who truly "puts his hand to the plow" must allow the Spirit to transform our strengths (which in the Light may be a weakness) and our fears. It's discipline and we run from it just as Grace did in the movie. But it is, and always must be, part of our response to God's promises. It is, after all,
for our sakes. We may think we are greatly overshadowed by the maturity of some Christians, but our growth and our maturity is just as important as theirs as we seek to honor God. Let mature Christians be an inspiration, not a limitation in your life. Speaking of saintly inspiration:

                    And I shall see Him face to face,
                    And tell the story--saved by grace."
                                                
                                                              Fannie Crosby