The Last of the Patriarchs

In today's reading, we read the blessing that Jacob imparted on his sons prior to his death. We've seen the phrase repeatedly in Genesis, but I like the imagery of 49:33 where it states he "breathed his last and was gathered to his people." There's a simple calm dignity in that statement, and gives us a glimpse of just what heaven will be when we too, in our own times, are gathered with our peoples. THAT'S going to be a family reunion.

Biblically speaking, when the term "patriarch" is used, it  refers to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, and as most of you know, their part in Bible history is known as the Age of the Patriarchs. Consider what pictures we imagine when we read about them--Abraham, trusting in the Lord at all times, Isaac, faithful even in the face of death, and Jacob, well, uh, Jacob. But think about what this means in the bigger picture.

God calls us to be blameless and without sin, and without fail, we all fall short. The law that will be introduced in a week or so and explained in excruciating detail over the next six weeks were the first steps God imposed for the Israelites' atonement, and of course Christ's death and resurrection eliminated the need for strict adherence to Levitic law on our part. So where does that leave us? We're just the same as Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, and I'll go so far as to say we exhibit the different characteristics of each one as we go through life. God managed to use all three of them to fulfill his purposes, and we're going to meet even odder characters as the year goes by. The cookie-cutter Christian is a myth, and rightly so. We all work on different levels, and our ability as a body of believers to continue to spread the message is precisely because of those differences. We all communicate differently, both in terms of methods we use and our effectiveness, but we all have certain people we seem to click with. God made us different precisely to find those people who respond to our method of the message. 

I'm pretty sure this is the first time I've mentioned this in the blog, but I will guarantee it's not the last time you'll hear this from me:

The message of Christ will NEVER change

The way we deliver that message will never STOP changing

If God can use people as different as Abraham and Jacob, I'm pretty sure he'll find a place for us. Besides, they were only different on superficial levels like personality and conduct, but exactly the same in the only thing that mattered: faith.

Scott