But Esau said, “I have enough, my brother; keep what you have for yourself.” Jacob said, “No, please, if I have found favor in your sight, then accept my present from my hand. For I have seen your face, which is like seeing the face of God, and you have accepted me.” (Genesis 33:9,10 ESV)
Jacob was a con man and his actions destroyed his relationship with his brother, Esau. First, Jacob waited patiently for his exhausted and famished brother to return from a long day of hunting. Jacob bribed Esau with some red stew if he swore to give up his birthright. If that wasn’t enough, Jacob and his mother swindled their father, Isaac, into stealing Esau’s rightful blessings as the older brother. Esau lost his inheritance, which included property, authority, domestic priesthood and the like.
Like Esau, many of us have experienced rejection, sometimes to our detriment. From children working hard to get approval from parents, to employees tirelessly slaving many hours to hear “good job” at work, to craving social media “likes” or comments from a post, so many of us struggle with the desire to be notable or simply liked by someone we admire. Parents spend beyond their budget to win the hearts of their children. Church members serve countless hours, not to glorify God, but to be noticed by church leadership. We use drugs, hang out in wrong crowds, indulge in sexual immorality, just to feel accepted.
In love, he predestined us for adoption to himself as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved (Ephesians 1:4b-6 ESV).
The real victory comes when believers accept that God fully knows them and fully accepts them. Our family might reject us, our jobs might not validate us, we might even tell ourselves how unworthy we are. But God doesn’t wait for you to get it all together or to work out all your sin before He adopts you into His family. He chooses us to conform us to the image of Christ, not because we already are like Him, but because our sovereign God has granted us spiritual blessing in the heavenly places. Acceptance.
Written by Juan Mendez:Juan is a graduate of the Colony of Mercy and now serves as the Colony of Mercy Program Administrator at America’s Keswick. He is married to Diera Mendez who serves in Barbara’s Place and has four children – Juan Jr., Olivia, Sage, and Orlando.
