Genesis 27,28

27:19 "Jacob said to his father, 'I am Esau your firstborn; I have done as you told me. Get up, please, sit and eat of my game, that you may bless me.' "

Wow. I had a hard time finding something encouraging in this passage. Isaac shows preference for Esau, Rebekah for Jacob. Both parents and children seem to be working against each other. This blessing seems to be pretty important, yet Isaac makes Esau wait until he can catch his father some food, Rebekah eavesdrops and plots deception, Jacob carries it out and falsifies the Lord's support to back his story, and Esau vows to kill his brother when things don't go his way. Who's the hero here?!? Who do I look up to?!?

In every culture, history is viewed as an important part of life. "If we don't learn from history, we are doomed to repeat it." And an integral part of history are the heroes. Students of history like heroes because it gives the learner a character to help summarize an era or event and, more importantly, gives them values and strengths to emulate. Greece has their Alexander, India has Gandhi, Native Americans have Chief Sitting Bull, America has George Washington, France has Napoleon. Yet a careful study of all these people will find them to have a common trait - they are all human. Being human, they all were far from perfect. We must be careful who we put on a pedestal, because if we truly want to emulate them, we find ourselves falling into the same sins that our heroes struggled with.

Who do I put on my pedestal? I greatly respect my grandfather. I named my first son after him solely because I hoped it would give my child reason to learn about him. And if my son becomes half the man my grandfather is, I will count it a blessing. But should my grandfather by my hero? I will not detract from the great life of ministry and devotion that my grandfather has lived, but he is still just a man. I know he's not perfect. If I put my entire focus on Christ, I will find no fault. Christ and Christ alone should be the hero we worship and seek to emulate.

While this passage was a bit discouraging, reflecting on it brought to mind the joy of knowing Christ and that he never pulled stunts like Isaac, Rebekah, Jacob, or Esau. He lived a perfect life so we can have a perfect model. And as for my grandpa, if I need help, I will always consider him one of my best sources for wisdom and encouragement, but he still falls second place to the Word of God. My grandfather has earned this kind of respect in me and most everyone else he knows because... he has made Christ his hero. And I hope that I, my wife, and my two sons follow in that example.

Lord, help me not to put my trust in earthly heroes. Help me to look to you for all guidance. Let me make you the hero of my life.

Matthew 8

8:34 "Then the whole town went out to meet Jesus. And when they saw Him, they pleaded with Him to leave their region."

Jesus is in the middle of working His wonders on earth, healing anyone who would come near Him, and a city asks Him to leave. This seems puzzling, but Luke gives us more insight; he says they asked Him to leave "because they were overcome with fear". Does fear ever get in the way of letting Jesus do His cleansing work in our lives? What might they have been afraid of?

Afraid of loss of things important to us
It's probably most likely they were disturbed by the loss of currency in the form of a herd of pigs. I don't know what a herd of pigs adjusted for inflation costs, but it's probably not cheap. When Jesus takes priority, our material possessions can suffer for it. God knows that money, things, or friends can never bridge the gap of the real need in our lives.

Afraid of disruption of the status quo
The people might have been content with the fact that some demon possessed men were causing trouble in the outskirts and didn't welcome all this attention. Many times, letting Jesus take control of your life will result in major disruptions to our comfortable way of life.

Afraid of conviction
Jesus was healing people and preaching repentance. It is possible that the people were not ready to feel convicted of their sins. It's amazing how sin can cause so much pain and loss in our lives, but we'll still cling to it. We hold on to it claiming "privilege" and scoff at anyone that will make us feel guilty about it.

Are any of these fears keeping me from letting Jesus work in the village of my heart? Am I "pleading him to leave the region". This might happen if I push conviction to the side by taking part in a conversation that doesn't glorify the Lord or putting my personal wants ahead of my family's needs. I need to recognize the great work Jesus is trying to do in my life and LET HIM IN!

Lord, help me to let you do Your sanctifying work in my life. Break my pride and my will so that I will not have any cause to ask You to "leave the room". Guard me from engaging in things that I know would make You ashamed. Never leave me.