Brothers again (Daily Devotional)

Hi everyone, welcome to Living Supernaturally. Thank you so much for this time to minister God’s word and spend these few moments in prayer. We have been talking about reconciliation and today we will talk about being brothers again. Romans chapter 12, verse 16, ‘Live in harmony with one another. Do not be proud, but be willing to associate with people of low position. Do not be conceited.’ If anyone had a reason to hold a grudge, it would be Jacob’s brother, Esau. Jacob cheated Esau out of his birthright and his blessing, then he fled because Esau planned to kill him as soon as his father, Isaac died. Twenty years later, after the both of them were married and had children, the met again. But Jacob was terrified of Esau because he thought that Esau still wants to kill him. We can understand that the idea of meeting again made Jacob nervous, especially since Esau came with 400 of his men. He sent messengers and lavish gifts ahead of him hoping to appease his brother, but he need not have to worry. Quite possibly, Jacob’s struggles with Laban have heled him to realize the great wrong that he had done to his brother. He now acknowledges that every blessing comes from God, it is His grace and he recognizes the grace that he needs from Esau if he had to reconcile with his brother. As Jacob bowed before his brother, Esau ran to meet Jacob and embraced him. He threw his arms around him and kissed him. Jacob responded, ‘to see your face is like seeing the face of God.’ If we read the previous chapter, Jacob wrestled with God, he saw God face to face. Now, Jacob saw a reflection of God in his brother Esau’s face. Paul calls us to live in harmony with one anther but sometimes, we don’t always succeed. We will have misunderstandings, we will be angry, we may cause strife and jealousy and all of these attributes may come forward but when we reconcile with one another, we see God’s face because God’s heart beats with reconciliation. Many of us may have strained relationships with our family members, parents, friends, with people at the workplace but perhaps, we need to recognize that the need for reconciliation is that when we reconcile, we reflect the face of God. We cannot control how others respond to us, but we can only show grace and enjoy the grace of God. In a similar way, sin has ruined our relationship with God, but Christ has reconciled us to God. What a joy it is today to know that you and I can be reconciled with each other and to God, knowing the work that Jesus did on the cross! Let us pray, Father, we thank you for your word and what we have studied today. We see this example of Jacob and Esau and how Esau found it in his heart to forgive Jacob. Jacob says, it was like seeing the face of God. I pray that each one of us in our lives, that we will reflect your face in every area of our lives. Thank you for helping us to do this, in Jesus’s name we pray, Amen.

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