October 2008 (A Lesson from Fleeing Jacob and Aging Isaac)
Dear Wowsarang Friends in the Lord,
All we know that Jacob deceived his aging father, Isaac to rob his brother Esau of his first-son-blessing. Yes, Jacob deserved his own flight to Haran where he was forced to labor for a good 20 years of his life. Jacob met his own match in Haran. His uncle Laban was a deceitful rancher who used Jacob to his own advantage. Well, still Jacob had to blame nobody but himself for his miserable life in Haran.
From the start of Jacob's sojourning life until his return, Jehovah God had been very gracious and faithful to unworthy Jacob. It was God's faithfulness to His own covenant with Jacob's grnadfather Abraham that kept Jacob from all harm and dangers. Jacob did not deserve such an unfailing love of God. But such a love was all about God's grace upon every Jacob like myself.
When we are very fond of our little kids, we are more or less lenient to even their evil and stubborn behaviors. And we are ever ready to forgive them. Yet I dare not to compare our paternal love for our own children to God's love for Jacob, you and me. God's paternal love is unlimited, pure, and holy. It never stops amazing us. We are at loss and don't know what to do about it. Unlike the Prodigal son's merciful and forgiving Father, we are pre-conditioned with our own short comings. Yes, we are handicapped with our own sinful hearts.
Whenever we are disappointed at our own rebellious kids, we've got to remember Heavenly Father's ever encouraging and all encompassing love towards our own plain foolish mistakes. Like wayward Jacob, our rebellious or wayward kids deserve their difficult times. Yet God's covenantal love and grace were always there in Jacob's sojourning life. How about us to our own wayward kids? There we need badly God's wisdom and courage that we may discern when and how to act to shape our kids' godly character at their low points of life.
May the love of our covenant God sustain us and our kids when they go through their self-induced miserable life!
Your brother and pastor
Sunny Boaz
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