Slimy Saints

January 30, 2019

Jacob was a conniving schemer, a liar and a swindler. The more often I read his story, the slimier he appears to me. He’s not the sort I’d choose as a friend. Or an enemy, which makes his stature in the pantheon of Jewish and Christian saints all the more astounding. How is it someone so disreputable is the one God chooses over his more honorable brother? Were I God, I’d be all over Jacob while encouraging his brother Esau, whose only fault seems to lie with his failure to take the long view of life. His impulsiveness cost him his future, while Jacob’s carefully laid schemes were rewarded with success. 

Their stories seem designed to encourage dreaming and planning, no matter who has to get stepped on to reach the top, while at the same time discouraging impulsivity. I’m not usually a very impulsive person, so it’s hard for me to identify with Esau. I don’t think I’m too much of a schemer, so I’m not cut out of the same cloth as Jacob. Instead, I have a little of each in me. I have like Esau often enough taken the easy way out, given in to the temptation of the quick fix or the shortcut. And like Jacob, I’ve schemed and plotted for my future, and not always in God-honoring ways. 

Most importantly, I’ve experienced undeserved grace. God has often covered my Esau-like shortsighted tracks, and like Jacob, has favored even my scheming when I didn’t deserve it. So tonight I am thankful that for all his shortcomings, God included Jacob in his roster of saints. It gives me hope. And even Esau, though forever known as the one who foolishly traded his inheritance for a bowl of soup, God chose to be the ancestor of many people. Favor comes in many ways; I’ve seen more than my share of it, and am grateful.