Genesis 28:10-17

This Christmas season we have focused some teaching on the stunning and practical implications of “God being with us.”  Jesus was called Immanuel, “God with us.”  While Jesus was indeed God wrapped in humanity (John 1:14), the biblical story throughout makes reference to God’s desire to be with us.  It impacts the way we respond to fear, and “God with us” impacts the degree to which we courageously step out in faith.  Interestingly, God’s desire to be with us is not necessarily conditioned by our readiness.  In a passage that beautifully illustrates God’s amazing grace and His loving initiative, God came to a guy named Jacob at a time when Jacob’s life was a mess.  At a critical time in Jacob’s life when he was facing into the consequences of his pattern of deception, God comes and ministers to Jacob through a dream.  And God tells Jacob that He would be with him wherever Jacob went (Genesis 28:15).  It was an announcement of hope to a guy who was bracing for the possibility of impending crisis.  At Christmas, we are reminded that Jesus entered a world that was “walking in darkness” (Isaiah 9:2).  God wants to meet us where we are.  He takes initiative to come to us and “be with us” – not necessarily in response to our pursuit of Him, but because He loves us right where we are. There is grace, and there is hope. For those with ragged lives who are willing to pause and look in God’s direction, there is the possibility of some glorious surprise.

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