Genesis 28

After Jacob flees his home, God gives him a vision of a stairway to heaven (not the Led Zeppelin version). Before that, though, Isaac reiterates his blessing to Jacob. Isaac apparently no longer has any misgivings about having been deceived, but then again, is he going to bless Esau now that the older son has vowed to kill the younger?

Esau hears of how both his parents despise Canaanite women, so, in what comes across as a bit of desperation to gain favor, he goes off and gets hitched to one of Ishmael's descendants. I do wonder if Isaac and Rebekah had told Esau about their preferences beforehand; if not, it's pretty sad that Esau had to find out secondhand. See, even the righteous Biblical families had their little problems.

After Jacob sees the manifestation of his eponymous ladder (though it was more like a stairway, if we believe the NIV scholars), he deems the location "awesome" and "the gate of heaven" (verse 17). I personally don't think there's a specific location in the physical realm that serves as THE gate of heaven. But as God says in verse 15, he will be with Jacob wherever he goes. That applies to us; it can be easy to forget that God isn't with us just when we pray or read the Bible or sing worship songs. He is with us every single moment--when we're celebrating a wedding, when we fall on our butts on the ice rink, when a loved one dies, when we're getting into shenanigans, when we witness our child take her first steps, when we're sitting on the porcelain throne…. Sometimes, God actively makes us pay attention to Him, but other times, we have to acknowledge that He is by our side.

Jacob makes a vow to follow God at the end of the chapter, but it's conditional. IF God provides for him and does so-and-so, only THEN will he recognize God. (Slightly unpleasant memories of geometry proofs creeping up here.) That's not how this works. I've tried--indeed, I still keep trying, even though I know it's wrong. As I wrote in another post, I don't make promises, but I do think, "God, if I can survive xxxx, I'll try to devote more time to developing my relationship with You." Doesn't always work out.

In the movie Kick-Ass, Dave Lizewski, a teenager with no superpowers, tries to be a superhero by dressing up in a wetsuit. After getting stabbed and hit by a car while trying to fight crime, he barely survives, promising never to do any crazy s*** again. Well, as this is only 20 minutes or so into the movie, we know how well he keeps that promise. He ends up surviving to the end of the movie anyway (not really a spoiler, as there's a Kick-Ass 2)--not on his own power (or lack thereof) but mostly because of help from another pair of vigilantes--an 11 year-old girl and her father--who actually know what they're doing.

Well, God definitely knows what He's doing. He does end up protecting Jacob, and He does still bestow me with so many blessings even though my own relationship with Him is probably conditional. If I truly respect God's grace, I have to stop taking advantage of it, following God not just when it's convenient but all the time. I know that no one can propitiate God with works alone, but I pray that I will continue to grow in my faith so that I will naturally perform acts of service for His kingdom.