God Loves Jerks
"Jacob I loved." (Rom 9:13)
God loves jerks. That is an unusual thought and one that is difficult for us to accept. But there are many biblical examples of this. One of the most profound is the bible character named Jacob. And in regards to Jacob the term bible "character" can be taken quite literally. Jacob was quite the character. The fact is, Jacob was a real jerk.
You can read the entire life of Jacob starting at Genesis 25:21 and going to Genesis 50:26. The Bible narrative holds nothing back, his life is a tell all story of a completely self-centered, controlling, manipulative man who had little or no love for anybody but himself. Jacob was a complete jerk.
To make a long story short, he did not love his wife (actually two wives and he was a terrible husband to both), his children (he was a terrible father) and he swindled both his father and his brother. Being a manipulator to the very end. As far as I can tell he did not have a positive relationship with anybody.
Yet, God in His infinite grace continued to love, overrule and care for a selfish, manipulative, insensitive jerk. Unbelievable, but it is in the bible for a reason.
The lesson here is that God loves to specialize in difficult cases and overlooking our faults he continues to bless and use us despite all our failures. This is a lesson in the grace of God, the unmerited favor and unconditional love of God. A lesson both our flesh and our mind struggle with if we seriously take it to heart. Yes, a very difficult lesson for any of us. Especially when it comes to loving jerks ourselves.
"But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us . . . " (2 Corinthians 4:7)
God was infinitely, at times unfairly, gracious to Jacob. "Jacob I have loved." (Romans 9:13) You have to say that God loved Jacob completely unconditionally.
Apparently Jacob was clueless as to his own deeply flawed character and yet God blessed him anyway. He never looked in the mirror. He saw no need for forgiveness, yet God forgave him anyway. He did not seek divine guidance, but God gave it to him anyway.
Jacob was a complete jerk who apparently felt no guilt for the way he treated people. He was afraid of his brother but apparently never really felt sorry for his actions. Jacob was a jerk! Or have I said that already. A jerk that God loved.
The point we must wrestle with here is how much God can love unworthy people. And if God pours out His love, His grace, His mercy and even His blessing on unworthy "jerks" . . . then we must learn to love them as well.
"That he might make known the riches of his glory upon vessels of mercy, which he afore prepared unto glory." (Romans 9:23)
I am not promoting jerks or encouraging you to be a jerk. I am just telling you to love them and accept them as God does, despite their jerkiness.
You are either a jerk or you know someone who is. And if you happen to be a "real" jerk, you probably don't know it. There is a little bit of Jacob in all of us. And yes, we all know some Jacobs, don't we? The point here is simple. God is love and He chooses to love Jacobs. We also, must learn to love and accept others just as they are. God loves jerks!
God loves jerks. That is an unusual thought and one that is difficult for us to accept. But there are many biblical examples of this. One of the most profound is the bible character named Jacob. And in regards to Jacob the term bible "character" can be taken quite literally. Jacob was quite the character. The fact is, Jacob was a real jerk.
You can read the entire life of Jacob starting at Genesis 25:21 and going to Genesis 50:26. The Bible narrative holds nothing back, his life is a tell all story of a completely self-centered, controlling, manipulative man who had little or no love for anybody but himself. Jacob was a complete jerk.
To make a long story short, he did not love his wife (actually two wives and he was a terrible husband to both), his children (he was a terrible father) and he swindled both his father and his brother. Being a manipulator to the very end. As far as I can tell he did not have a positive relationship with anybody.
Yet, God in His infinite grace continued to love, overrule and care for a selfish, manipulative, insensitive jerk. Unbelievable, but it is in the bible for a reason.
The lesson here is that God loves to specialize in difficult cases and overlooking our faults he continues to bless and use us despite all our failures. This is a lesson in the grace of God, the unmerited favor and unconditional love of God. A lesson both our flesh and our mind struggle with if we seriously take it to heart. Yes, a very difficult lesson for any of us. Especially when it comes to loving jerks ourselves.
"But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us . . . " (2 Corinthians 4:7)
God was infinitely, at times unfairly, gracious to Jacob. "Jacob I have loved." (Romans 9:13) You have to say that God loved Jacob completely unconditionally.
Apparently Jacob was clueless as to his own deeply flawed character and yet God blessed him anyway. He never looked in the mirror. He saw no need for forgiveness, yet God forgave him anyway. He did not seek divine guidance, but God gave it to him anyway.
Jacob was a complete jerk who apparently felt no guilt for the way he treated people. He was afraid of his brother but apparently never really felt sorry for his actions. Jacob was a jerk! Or have I said that already. A jerk that God loved.
The point we must wrestle with here is how much God can love unworthy people. And if God pours out His love, His grace, His mercy and even His blessing on unworthy "jerks" . . . then we must learn to love them as well.
"That he might make known the riches of his glory upon vessels of mercy, which he afore prepared unto glory." (Romans 9:23)
I am not promoting jerks or encouraging you to be a jerk. I am just telling you to love them and accept them as God does, despite their jerkiness.
You are either a jerk or you know someone who is. And if you happen to be a "real" jerk, you probably don't know it. There is a little bit of Jacob in all of us. And yes, we all know some Jacobs, don't we? The point here is simple. God is love and He chooses to love Jacobs. We also, must learn to love and accept others just as they are. God loves jerks!
This is a good word. We like accepting God's mercy for ourselves, but it goes against the grain when we see God showing mercy to others. Somehow we think we "deserve" to be loved and others "deserve" to be hated. We need to learn to love like God loves--which means loving even jerks.
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