Blinded by Love
Most of us have read of the dysfunction in the ancient patriarchal families of the Bible. Recently, reading about Isaac and Rebecca, Jacob and Esau, reminded me how important it is to seek God’s will for our children.
It’s amazing and almost unbelievable that Isaac, who had a father of amazing faith and wisdom, was so mixed up himself about which one of his own children was to receive the blessing from God. The one who would be used to further God’s plan, Jacob, was not the son Isaac intended to bless.
Now, I know that for many, the way this story turns out stirs up emotion about fairness, but what stood out to me the most was the failure of the parents to seek God. If Isaac had sought God’s wisdom and counsel throughout parenthood, wouldn’t he then have been lined up with God’s will? I believe so. He quite possibly would have recognized the tendency of Esau towards pride and arrogance, and taught him differently. He could have guided Jacob to use his shrewd mind righteously instead of sinfully. No doubt, years of animosity and contention could have been avoided between the brothers. And maybe Esau would have ended up with a portion of the blessing instead of just a curse.
I know Isaac had hopes and dreams for Esau, but was blinded by his love and emotions. I know my husband and I have hopes and dreams for our children, and it’s possible that we too have been blind in some areas because of our love and emotions. In fact, we’ve recently discussed how unrealistic some of our hopes have been. Having one adult child, one teenager, and two adolescents, we’ve had to let go of certain expectations and especially our sadness that they had not been met to begin with.
A difficult task to accomplish on our own, we leaned on God for comfort, and sought His wisdom for all of our children. Now, we are reevaluating our dreams for them. We’re asking God to reveal to us the areas that we’ve been blind in. I have no doubt that He will birth in us the same dreams He has for our children. They are truly in His hands, and the future He has planned for them is better than we could ever imagine.
Amie Spruiell
2-03-2012
Thanks for this devotional, Amie.
ReplyDeleteI think we have to remember that even though this story seems unfair, God's will was done. And in our own lives, even when things seem unfair, God's will shall be done.
And it is a good thing that God is NOT fair, or we would get what we really deserve, but instead Jesus paid the price for us to have eternal life in heaven! Talk about unfair! Ever grateful for this gift.
Blessings
Jan
Enjoyed your writing, and love how you cause me to see things through a different window. Seems in my life, God is
ReplyDeleteusing my children to refine my walk with HIM..just glad HE is the one whom I trust...Smiles, K