I love a fairy tale ending.  When a great narrative wraps up with goodness and joy.  Where love wins.  Israel becomes that story.  After reconciliation with his brother, he continues to enjoy the blessings of his family and the enormity of his resource.  He, just like his father, has a favorite son to which all others pale in comparison.  His name is Joseph and he is quite the dreamer.

I often reflect on the enormity of Jacob’s story and can’t help but think that God has a way of ensuring that grace and justice win the day.  Jacob was a scoundrel…he was always looking out for #1, himself.  He used his abilities to get ahead and even still, God interrupted his life and redirected him.  We call this transformation.

The heart of these stories in the bible is that the ‘heroes’ are almost always misnamed.  The hero is God and what God does in, and through, the people.  The characters are fallible, or normal, who experience the extraordinary gaze of God’s grace on them.  I find solace in the truth that God can, and will, use us – not, due to our perfection or morality, but because God has always been using the imperfect to show the perfect love of God—forgiveness, grace and welcome!