Today's Reading:
Genesis 31:17-32:12
Luke 7:36-8:3
Psalm 11:1-6
Click on Text Link to Read Online
Focus Verses:
Genesis 31:45-49
45 So Jacob took a stone and set it up as a pillar. 46 He said to his relatives, "Gather some stones." So they took stones and piled them in a heap, and they ate there by the heap. 47 Laban called it Jegar Sahadutha, and Jacob called it Galeed. 48 Laban said, "This heap is a witness between you and me today." That is why it was called Galeed. 49 It was also called Mizpah, because he said, "May the LORD keep watch between you and me when we are away from each other."
Insight:
It's
difficult to navigate through the changes in life. Laban and Jacob
had both cheated and benefited each other. They needed each other, but
they both wanted to be free from each other too. Now they were at a
decisive point of separation.
Neither one of them fully
trusted each other (with good reason), but they promised each other,
before God, that neither of them would harm the other. Jacob would
take care of Laban's daughters and grandchildren. Laban would release,
pursue them no further, and do them no wrong. As a sign and a
reminder of their promises to each other, Jacob and Laban made a pile
of stones.
Response and Action:
Our
lives are bound up and interwoven with the lives of others, but there
are times when we must face and accept changes in those
relationships. Our children grow up and leave home and start making
their own choices and living by their own values. Our friendships go
through changes because our life circumstances change (jobs, health,
location, responsibilities).
Ultimately, we have to live our
own lives before God. We all need to commit ourselves to be good to
each other and trust God to keep watch over us. I need to yield myself
to God and trust him with the changes in my life instead of trying to
control things beyond my control.
Rather than allowing the
changes of life to destroy relationships, I want to accept changes, to
trust others, and to trust God. When I reach decisive milestones in my
relationships with others, it might be helpful for me to do something
special to mark those changes in order to help me remember them
before God.
O God, teach me to
trust you with every change in life. Give me a heart that desires what
is best for others. Stop me from taking any action or saying any word
that would destroy a friendship or hurt a relationship. Help me to
treat others with the same grace and freedom I would want them to treat
me. Remind me of your faithfulness and increase my faith. Through
Christ, I pray. Amen.
Spiritual Formation Verses: Romans 12:17-19
17 Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everybody. 18 If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. 19
Do not take revenge, my friends, but leave room for God's wrath, for
it is written: "It is mine to avenge; I will repay," says the Lord.
Resources:
Relational Masks: Removing the Barriers that Keep Us Apart
by Russell Willingham
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