Grains of Sand

Google Images If Jacob thought that he had escaped the intrigue by running away from home and going to live with his relatives, he was sadly mistaken. The lies, manipulation and deceit continued in his uncle’s home. He worked for seven years in order to gain the hand of Laban’s daughter, Rachel, only to end up with Rachel’s older sister, Leah. Then he worked for another seven years to finally get Rachel. This story is recorded for us in Genesis 29. But it is Leah that captured my attention this morning. Her father basically “sold” her into a loveless marriage. His excuse was that tradition dictated that the oldest daughter marry before the youngest, but it does sound like he bothered to find her a husband during the first seven years that Jacob spent working for Rachel’s hand. In any case, we see the hand of God in all this mess. “ When the Lord saw that Leah was not loved, he opened her womb, but Rachel was barren ” (Genesis 29:31). God gave her someone to love and someone who wou...

What would Jesus do? Several years ago this phrase was popularized, reprised from that famous work by Charles Sheldon, In His Steps , published in the late 1890s. In Christian circles the WWJD was everywhere and on everything. The idea was to filter every decision made through the question: "What would Jesus do in this situation?" and then do it. As I read through the Book of Matthew in my devotions I can't help but be reminded how far from modeling Jesus' example I am. With more examples in hand than I can possibly work through in one blog (brevity being the number one rule of blogging), I will confine myself to one general lesson that arises out of a conversation I had yesterday with a friend. The Lord never seemed to focus on his own needs. He was totally human, with all the needs common to humanity and all the accompanying temptations. Only on the cross did he ask for something to drink because he was thirsty. Obviously he had to eat and sleep and refresh hims...