Ordinary to Extraordinary

Read Genesis 27-28
 
Gen 28:16-17 When Jacob awoke from his sleep, he thought, “Surely the LORD is in this place, and I was not aware of it.” 17 He was afraid and said, “How awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of God; this is the gate of heaven.”
 
GOD amazes me. Jacob is far from perfect. His name means “one who grabs by the heel” or “one who trips up.” This becomes Jacob’s character. He’s willing to deceive and lie, to plot and take advantage of others. He is not someone you’d trust with a handshake and his word.
    Now his life is in jeopardy because of this deceit. Yet, God enters into Jacob’s life to affirm this son of Isaac is God’s next chosen “father” to form Israel! Throughout the rest of Genesis, we will read of Jacob’s remaining life. God will name him “Israel” to mean “You have struggled with the Lord and have overcome.”
    Why would God create Jacob to be of a sinful character and then transform his life? I’m thinking of people I know whom God has dramatically changed from a life of deceit, denying their sins, into a life of promise and peace, just as Jacob was. You’ve seen them, too. It’s you. It’s me. It’s all of us. Seeing ours and others’ lives changed with God’s Word assures us God is at work. We each can praise God he has chosen us to overcome sin, so we are equipped to walk in God’s commands.
    Transformation is the story of Genesis – of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. These three men, the foundational fathers of Israel from whom our Savior would come, are ordinary men whom God chooses to guide into extraordinary lives, so he could use them to fulfill his Kingdom purposes. You and I are the same: ordinary in the world, extraordinary in the Kingdom of God. Seeing these dramatic changes, we can see God’s loving care to make us new in his love.
 
Praise God. He has shown you the way to heaven.