The Grands Letter

Dear Grands,

Genesis 32:9-12, “Jacob said, ‘O God of my father Abraham and God of my father Isaac, O LORD, who said to me, ‘”Return to your country and to your relatives, and I will prosper you,
10 I am unworthy of all the lovingkindness and of all the faithfulness which You have shown to Your servant; for with my staff only I crossed this Jordan, and now I have become two companies.’
11 “Deliver me, I pray, from the hand of my brother, from the hand of Esau; for I fear him, that he will come and attack me and the mothers with the children.
12 “For You said, ‘I will surely prosper you and make your descendants as the sand of the sea, which is too great to be numbered.'”

It was Robert Southey’s 1810 poem that said, “Curses are like young chicken: they always come home to roost.” Although Southey was hugely late here with his statement, it fits well with the fear that gripped Isaac as he contemplated his meeting with his brother Esau. Isaac was a schemer, but the time was up, and the meeting he knew would one day come was now soon to be upon him.

There’s a clear message for all of us in the Jacob-Esau story. Simply stated, it is, “You cannot do wrong and get by.” I can remember my grandmother saying,
“Keep short accounts.” I had to grow up to grasp her meaning, but, I did.

It was Jesus’ clear instruction to us when He said,

“Make friends quickly with your opponent at law while you
are with him on the way, so that your opponent may not hand
you over to the judge, and the judge to the officer, and you be
thrown into prison. 26 “Truly I say to you, you will not come out
of there until you have paid up the last cent” (Mat. 5:25-26).

There is not the slightest hint in Jesus’ words regarding an escape for Jacob’s responsibility; yet, there was a way to meet it and escape the rigor that would otherwise be involved. In Jacob’s situation, his internal resolution, and genuine sorrow, enabled a productive outcome.

There is no excuse for us to engage in any skulduggery when we face difficulty. We simply need to place all of our trust in the LORD Jesus Christ, and behave according to the teachings of His Word. Worry is the opposite of trust; and when we worry, we are simply not trusting Christ.

I remember the meaningful words of a children’s song we used to sing:

Cheer up, ye saints of God;
There’s nothing to worry about;
Nothing to make you feel afraid;
Nothing to make you doubt;
Remember, Jesus never fails,
So why not trust Him and shout?
You’ll be sorry you worried at all
Tomorrow morning.

Now, how about it? Put your faith and trust in Christ. He’s never failed!

Heartily in Christ Jesus,

(Dado III)

Gene L. Jeffries, Th.D.
Springdale, Arkansas 72764
United States of America

“We never know that Christ is all we need until He becomes all that we have.” – Corrie ten Boom