WordLive - Year OneSample

Prepare: Much of life is competitive. We jockey for position in our families, work, social networks and churches. I need to be noticed, recognised and rewarded. Turn now to the lover of your soul and breathe in his unconditional love.

A complicated family
With the passage of time, 12 children are added to Jacob’s family. But it’s a rather complicated affair: Leah produces six sons and one daughter; Rachel gives birth to one son; Rachel’s servant Bilhah gives Jacob two sons, while Zilpah, Leah’s servant, also has two sons.

Although the culture was considerably different from our own, this is not straightforward family life. Both wives try to outdo each other in childbearing, and they have nurtured destructive attitudes towards each other and Jacob. Rachel is jealous of her sister (30:1) and Leah feels unloved (29:33).

God at work
But God is also at work here. He sees (29:31), listens (30:17) and remembers (30:22) as he works with this tricky family.

Politicians are eager to invoke a golden period in family life, but this story reminds us that this most essential of all human institutions is often the stage for strife as well as love.

Respond: What comes to mind as you consider your own experience of family life? This passage gives us permission to look at these precious relationships in a different light. Bring your joy and maybe your pain before him now. Ask for a greater measure of love and forgiveness towards your family members. Remember: he is with you all – always.

http://www.wordlive.org/Session/Classic/2012-07-19