The Bible tells the story of two brothers. From conception they were rivals, they were twins at birth; but never were two men more different. One was a “real man” he was a hunter, and outdoorsman. He was not committed to any one thing, but lived his life one day at a time. He did nothing that did not please him, but only did what he believed would get him the immediate results that craved. The other man, sort of a “momma’s boy.” He was careful and calculating to a fault. He carefully attempted to manipulate all circumstances to bring about the outcome that would best benefit him. Both men were living contrary to the Lord, but one man at least had a vision for what God might offer. This account is found in the book of Genesis. What made Jacob benefit from God’s offer? It was the Grace of God. Even Jacob’s name means, “schemer or manipulator”, there is nothing in Jacob that would manifest goodness. Yet, it is the Grace of God that permits both young men the opportunity to be born into the line of Abraham. Jacob does not turn to God because of his goodness, He turns to God because of His grace in Jacob’s life. The point my friend, is that God does not call us because of our merit, He calls us because of His Grace. Learning to live in that grace is a humbling reality, and provides hope when we feel hopeless. God does not love us more when we are good, than when we are bad, God just chooses to love us! We are reminded in Romans 5:8 that, “God commended His love toward us in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.” If God loved us enough to allow His Son to die for us while we were sinners, think how committed to us we are as He declares us saints. We need to learn to turn to God from our sin, and then learn to rest in His Grace.
