Thought for Today
Genesis 32:24 Jacob was left alone; and a man wrestled with him until daybreak . . . 26 Then he said, "Let me go, for the day is breaking." But Jacob said, "I will not let you go, unless you bless me." 27 So he said to him, "What is your name?" And he said, "Jacob." 28 Then the man said, "You shall no longer be called Jacob, but Israel, for you have striven with God and with humans, and have prevailed." 29 Then Jacob asked him, "Please tell me your name." But he said, "Why is it that you ask my name?" And there he blessed him. . . 32 So Jacob called the place Peniel, saying, "For I have seen God face to face, and yet my life is preserved."
Acts 9:4 He fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to him, "Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?" 5 He asked, "Who are you, Lord?" The reply came, "I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting.
1 Thessalonians 5:4 But you, beloved, are not in darkness, for that day to surprise you like a thief;
Jacob was a fascinating Old Testament figure. I have long treasured the story of his wrestling with God. Irrespective of whether the story is read as history or as metaphor, Jacob’s story is a saga of discovery. It is a story of Jacob’s discovery of who and whose he truly was. The scheming, conniving younger brother who conspired to cheat his older brother out of his birthright and then fled was traveling back toward home. As he pondered the various possibilities of his reception, he contended with “a man,” wrestling until daybreak. The story is presented without any hint that Jacob recognized the mystery man as God. The wrestling match went on all night with no apparent victor. As daylight approached and the mystery man disengaged, Jacob asked for his name and ultimately asked for a blessing.
I would love to see a video recording of Jacob at the point Jacob realized that his wrestling match opponent was the Creator of all Creation. Certainly, Jacob must have been surprised at that realization. Equally, when Jacob finally confronted the brother he had cheated, Jacob must have been surprised at Esau’s reaction. After carefully dividing his entourage, attempting to shield his wives and children from Esau’s anticipated retribution and then bowing as he approached Esau, “33:4 Esau ran to meet him, and embraced him, and fell on his neck and kissed him, and they wept.“ Another video I would love to see.
I’m not sure whether Saul of Tarsus was less, equally or more surprised on his journey along the road to Damascus. Sadly, video recording was not invented until long afterward. We do know that Saul, later Paul, was literally ‘blinded by the light.’ Certainly, both of these Biblical characters must have been models of being surprised. Those events were ‘the surprise of their lives.’
Are there occasions or events in your own life that have been surprises? Almost certainly so for us all. I was not ‘blinded by the light’ when I first heard the call to ministry. But, I was surprised. I remember announcing to our Bible Study class that I was entering seminary and intended to pursue ordination. I was surprised at their reaction. Rather than expressing surprise, they only commented on how long it took me to hear God’s call, a call they all had recognized long before I did.
Surprises can be beneficent. Surprises can be challenging. Surprises can be detrimental and even devastating. Surprises are always surprises. Often, maybe most importantly, surprises are what we make of them. I remember the first time I read Ephesians 2:8. My first reaction was surprise, “Can it really be that simple?” Is my salvation purely by the grace of God, freely given through my faith? Yes!
Of course, there are implications. One of my favorite books of the Bible is the Epistle of James. James understood one of the implications, “2:17 So faith by itself, if it has no works, is dead . . . 26 For just as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is also dead.” Two sides of a single coin. As long as we recognize, honor and fulfill both sides, we can avoid the surprise of which Paul wrote to the Thessalonians.
Stay safe, have faith and live your faith, trust God,
Pastor Ray