Devotion - Thursday, February 20

There are some stories in the Bible to which I cannot relate.  One collection of such stories is in Genesis 32.  Because of what he has done to his brother, Jacob is fearful of his impending reunion with his brother, Esau.  

(Maybe the solution to my conflicted reading of this verse is in the previous sentence, "Because of what he had done...")

The worse of injuries occur between those who are the most connected.  We are able to wound our brother/sister/mother/father with greater efficiency than we might inflict insult on a lab partner or fellow member of a group project.  In the process of allowing us to become close, they have also allowed us to recognize their sensitive spots and the things that cause them the greatest fear.  

We jab at those spots, when our emotions shift toward anger or frustration.

Jacob has taken advantage of his brother's sensitive spots.  It was Esau's hunger that Jacob used to steal his birthright.  Esau's neglect of their mother resulted in her siding with Jacob in obtaining their father's blessing.

Now, after fifteen years away, Jacob is returning to encounter his brother.  And Jacob is fearful.

Jacob sends lavish gifts ahead of himself, to his brother.  He hopes to appease his brother's anger.  He recognizes the brokenness between them, and he tries to find a way to avoid the retaliation he fears.

 While I cannot relate to this part of the story, I do understand that Jacob had to return to his brother, even at great risk.  He could not simply stay away.  He has to return to the one with whom he shares an unbreakable relationship - even if that relationship may now cause more pain than comfort.  And it is his brother, who will both force him and allow him to have the long, honest look at himself which will allow him to be re-named "Israel," a name which means "one who has striven with God and with man."

Who are the persons in your life that offer you that opportunity?  What is the status of your current interactions with them?  And how might you find a way to return to them, as an invitation to the long, honest look into your own life?