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Saturday, September 27, 2003
Jacob: A sinner made saint
By Tim R. Alanib
MOST caterpillars are ugly creatures. In themselves they give little evidence of beauty. Yet by "dying" as worms, many are wonderfully transformed into butterflies, among the most beautiful of God's creation.
Men, unlike the caterpillar, have no capacity for such a physical transformation. God, however, through the working of His grace, can transform men in ways even more miraculous, and He will work His divine spiritual metamorphosis in all who trust Him to do so.
The life of Jacob well illustrates the process by which God makes saints out of sinners. This son of Isaac is one of the most interesting characters in the Old Testament, perhaps partly because in him we recognize so much of ourselves.
When the Lord started to deal with him, Jacob was rather peer stuff -- 95 percent self. Like many people we know who view God as optional, he was supremely confident that his sharp wits would get him everything he needed. He had no qualms about taking advantage of even his brother's weaknesses or his father's blindness. He deceived his father and covered the deceit with lies. He schemed against his uncle, who happened also to be his father-in-law.
Does the end justify the means? Is a believer right in stooping to deception and falsehood in order to get what he thinks God wants him to have? Should a Christian misrepresent his age or training or experience in order to get a job?
We are not justified in aiming for unscriptural methods to do God's work. Certainly we are to do anything honorable and upright that is in our power, but beyond that our expectation is to be from Him, and we are to await His action.
God's choice of Jacob was a demonstration of sheer sovereign grace, "Here is the key to God's selection of Jacob", says Sanders. "He chose a worm that men might see Him transformed into a prince". The blessing Jacob received had nothing to do with what he had done, either good or bad. He however, that he - unlike Esau - became a man of faith. For all his despicable faults, he finally trusted the Lord. And - again unlike Esau - he wanted the blessing and appreciated its value.
In God's purpose for us, "what" and "how" are both important.
In one sense, God has the same "what" - the same ultimate goal - for each of His children. He wants all of us to conform to the image of His Son. He wants us all to be like Christ in our dispositions, our attitudes, and our conduct. This was His goal for Jacob. It is What He wants for each of His people.
Of course this is not the only "what" in God's plan for a believer. He may want one person to be a missionary, another to be a schoolteacher, and a third to be a farmer's wife. God has many people and many objectives, or purposes, for them. Each goal, in its details is exactly suited to the individual. It is important that a Christian opens himself to God's plan and allows the Lord to work His purposes, whatever he may be.
But we cannot overlook the How of God's purposes. God has not only planned What He wants to bring about in, for, and through us, but the way this is to be accomplished. And sometimes the How is almost as important as the "what"!
Jacob was happy with What God had for him, but he was not convinced that God's How - God's way of doing things - didn't need assistance from Jacob.
Like many of us, he was in a hurry and wanted to help God along. He overlooked the truth that we live within a brief compass of years while God acts in eternity - He is never short of time.
When God's way for us is pleasant - when our days are cheerful and our nights restful - we do not question His How. But when He sends us dreary, monotonous task, sleepless nights, and multiple frustrations - because He knows that these will develop our characters into the likeness of His Son - we sometimes, like Jacob, grow impatient and take matters into our own hands.
Thoughts on the Will of God
*When we want to know God's will, three things must always concur: the inward impulse, the Word of God, and the trend of circumstances.
*The question is not whether we know the will of God but whether we are willing to do the will of God. If so, God will then make his will clear to us.
*An individual's highest fulfillment, greatest happiness, and widest usefulness are to be found in living in harmony with His will. (John D. Rockefeller, Jr.).
Email: ambrosia_tim@yahoo.com
(September 27, 2003 issue)
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