Sorry, I Forgot!

Hey guys, I forgot to tell you what I read today;

• Genesis 32:13-34:31
• Matthew 11:7-30
• Psalm 14:1-7
• Proverbs 3:19-20

I honestly can't remember what it was about....oh, yeah, false alarm, I remember. I loved how Esau was welcoming of Jacob despite everything. I look at that from two points of view.

One, how faithful God was to Jacob, that He answered him to protect him from his brother. Remember in yesterday's reading how freaked out he was about going back home, and who could blame him, the reason he left in the first place was because his mom told him his brother was about to kill him. He was scared to death of death by his brother's hand, and he prayed that God would keep him safe.

Second, how understanding Esau was. I mean, picture yourself as Esau, you come home from hunting and you're starving and you ask your brother for food, your brother says, "I know your about to die of hunger but you aren't even touching this food till you give me your rights as first born" So, you (Esau) in desperation, and maybe a tiny bit of dumbness give away your rights. Then, it happens again, your dad sends you out for some meat, you hunt and bring your best, only to come and find your brother has stolen all your father's blessings, leaving you with absolutely nothing! Then, he comes back.
Would you be so calm and forgiving like Esau was? I know I probably wouldn't be! So that's props on Esau, for not carrying that bitterness in his heart. We see that he wasn't stewing in anger and plans for vengeance, he moved on with his life and actually made something out of himself from absolutely nothing. When Jacob came with this huge peace offering of camels and sheep and goats he said:

Gen 33:9  But Esau said, "I have enough, my brother; keep what you have." 

I mean, how cool is that? Last we left him, he was practically going around with a curse on his head, that he'll always be under his brother's rule, and to quote his dad, "no dew from heaven for you, no fertile land for you" but he didn't carry around the anger for that injustice.


This applies to me, for being the type to carry grudges forever and hold unforgiveness in my heart. I need to not let whatever happened in my past define who I am now. No matter how badly I think I've been wronged or how unfair I think it is.



Image from Mavuno Website