The Wrestler
One of my favorite characters in the Bible is
Jacob. He is one of my favorite people in Scripture not because he always did
the right thing, or because he was perfect, but because I can identify with him
more closely than most Bible characters.
Jacob spent his life scrapping for everything he
got. He was a twin with his brother Esau. While Esau came out of his mother
Rachel’s womb first, Jacob was grabbing at his heel trying to get ahead of his
brother on the day he was born.
Jacob was the youngest, so he had to fight harder
to get ahead. And that is what he did. He tricked his bigger and stronger
brother out of his greater share of his father’s inheritance. Then he stole his
father’s blessing to carry on the family name and mission. After that his
brother wanted to kill him, so he had to run.
He went to his mother’s homeland, and married two
women. His father-in-law tricked him once, but with skillful animal husbandry
he found a way to get ahead with him as well. He spent most of his life
fighting for a blessing.
Then came the day when he had to meet his brother.
After decades of being estranged, he was frightened and afraid. He sent his
servants, wives, and kids ahead of him, in case his brother wanted to kill him.
He made camp by the side of a brook. Still struggling. Still fighting for a
blessing. Still longing for approval.
A stranger came to him in the night. They engaged
in hand to hand combat. For hours upon hours they fought. All through the
night. After a while, it became clear to Jacob that he was wrestling a
supernatural being. Either an angel or God himself.
They wrestled until the sun was about to come up.
The strange being said he had to go. Jacob asked the person’s name. He wouldn’t
share it. Then Jacob said he would not let the being go without a blessing. He
received the blessing, and then the being disappeared into thin air. Jacob
believed he had wrestled with God, and won a blessing. He had an injury to his
hip, he would walk with a limp, but he went forward in faith that God had
blessed him.
My question is, why did Jacob wrestle God for a
blessing he had received decades ago? And the answer is, because that is who
Jacob was. Always fighting. Always wrestling. And God was willing to either
send an angel or come in human form and wrestle with Jacob. And once again
offer the blessing. Jacob was a fighter. He always had to fight for what he
got. He got through life by sheer force of will. God understood that, and
accepted and loved Jacob as he was.
I think there are a lot of us like Jacob. We start
life just a little bit out of step, or feeling like we are a little bit behind
everyone. And we feel like we have to catch up. Even when we encounter God and
are blessed by Him, we have to keep fighting, keep wrestling, keep striving to
get where we want to be. We are the underdog, always trying to win against
impossible odds. We may have been blessed with a great family, enough money to
get by on, a car that runs, and a roof over our heads. We still feel like we
have fight and struggle with men and God for acceptance, approval, belonging,
and even love.
Jacob’s story reminds people like us of two
things. First, God loves us as we are, and meets us where we are at in our
lives. Second, God wants to bless us. It is often us who want to strive and
fight and battle for a blessing that we already have. Or, instead of
surrendering our lives to God and receiving that blessing, we want to fight and
battle for everything we get. We want to earn the approval of God and people,
and God offers it for free.
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