Time changes many things
This fresh set of Daily Devotions is being provided for our LCA/NZ family, friends and visitors to help us to keep our eyes on Jesus as we face unsettling times. They can be used by families and individuals as part of the LCA/NZ’s Church@Home resources to encourage us and build trust in our Heavenly Father during this season of uncertainty and physical isolation.
by Pastor Reid Matthias
Click here for your printable verse to carry with you today.
‘But Esau ran to meet Jacob and embraced him; he threw his arms around his neck and kissed him’ (Genesis 33:4).
My sister, Danielle, is an emergency room nurse in Minneapolis, Minnesota. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Dani had to leave her three children with my parents to keep them safe during her long hours of taking care of sick patients in the ER. This separation was horrific for her, and the loneliness that assailed her was a heavy weight of darkness.
Six weeks into their necessary separation, my parents drove to meet Dani and decided to surprise her by bringing Dani’s kids along. The excitement made the kids squirm in the back seat of the car. Unfortunately, my sister called and said that she’d be late – she had been struggling very badly.
Finally, when she arrived at the meeting place, she parked away from my parents’ car, and as she approached, the kids’ heads popped up from the back seat. Instantly, the ache of mother’s love overtook Dani and she began to weep. To be separated from family is a very, very difficult thing.
If you were going to meet someone, who would you love to have pop up?
Would family, friends or neighbours with whom you’d disagreed come to mind?
In the text, Jacob never expected Esau to pop back up in his life. The way they had parted, Jacob deceiving Esau, taking both blessing and birthright, would have caused a rift between the brothers. Perhaps Jacob would have not wanted to see Esau.
But in the midst of reconnection, time had changed Esau for the better. Gone was the sibling rivalry and the need to impress parents (and even each other). What replaced it was a desperate desire to be reunited with his brother.
Maybe in this time of separation, isolation and loneliness, someone unexpected will pop back up into your life. Will time have changed them? You? Is this time a perfect one for reconciliation?
Heavenly Father, thank you for the opportunities you give to us to reconcile with our brothers and sisters. Help us to reconnect and find a common point again. Amen.
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