Living in the Spirit

October 11, 2022

Scripture Reading: Genesis 32:22-31
The same night he got up and took his two wives, his two maids, and his eleven children, and crossed the ford of the Jabbok. He took them and sent them across the stream, and likewise everything that he had. Jacob was left alone; and a man wrestled with him until daybreak. When the man saw that he did not prevail against Jacob, he struck him on the hip socket; and Jacob’s hip was put out of joint as he wrestled with him. Then he said, ‘Let me go, for the day is breaking.’ But Jacob said, ‘I will not let you go, unless you bless me.’ So he said to him, ‘What is your name?’ And he said, ‘Jacob.’ 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.’ 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. So Jacob called the place Peniel, saying, ‘For I have seen God face to face, and yet my life is preserved.’ The sun rose upon him as he passed Peniel, limping because of his hip.

We are always the child of our parents, but at some point, in our lives, we must transition to being fully responsible for our actions and decision. We call it adulthood. It is not defined by age but by that point in time when we step out and take responsibility for who we are and what we do. It is also when we personally commit ourselves to God. Jacob came lately to that point. His story describes a person who was full of himself. He stole his brother’s birthright and cheated his father-in-law out of sheep. I do not know what he had in mind when he decided to return to his original home. It may have been to continue his conman habits, but as he traveled home, he had an encounter with God that turned him around refocusing his skills and talents on following God putting all those misplaced skills to better use.

Self-examination needs to be a part of our lives. Are we investing our skills and talents to fulfill our calling of creating the beloved community, the Kingdom of God in this world today? Sometimes such self-examination may result in our, too, wrestling with God until we understand our role in that calling.

Prayer: Lord, grace us with finding our role in the development of the beloved community and dedicating ourselves to its fulfillment. Amen.

All scriptures are quoted from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicized Edition, copyright 1989, 1995, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights are reserved.