Used Shoes

6Then the messengers returned to Jacob, saying, “We came to your brother Esau, and he is also coming to meet you, and four hundred men are with him.” 7So Jacob was greatly afraid and distressed; and he divided the people that were with him, and the flocks and herds and camels, into two companies. 8And he said, “If Esau comes to the one company and attacks it, then the other company which is left will escape.” 9Then Jacob said, “O God of my father Abraham and God of my father Isaac, the LORD who said to me, ‘Return to your country and to your family, and I will deal well with you’
Genesis 32: 6 - 9 NKJV

The other day a friend reminded me of the moment in which brothers Jacob and Esau once again reunited.  See, although they were brothers, Jacob and Esau had been distant for some time.  Indeed, Jacob had deceived his younger brother a few times along the way.  In the end, however, it was the younger Jacob who received their father Issacs blessing which had been meant for the older Esau.  The scriptures tell us of the anger of Esau upon his own brother.  So, Jacob left home with Esau in pursuit.  So, what would you think would be their reaction should these two brothers meet again?  I mean, Jacob had a lot of explaining to do right?  Perhaps some repayment was due for what he had stolen from his older brother?  Indeed, Jacob had to be thinking that his younger brother would be out for revenge.  Yet that wasn't the way it played out.  For as Jacob approached his brother after sending reconcoliation gifts ahead of him, he encountered something he didn 't expect.  Forgiveness.  As they approached one another that day both brothers embraced.  Why do I bring this up?  Because it reminded me of two brothers who have been distant for a long time.  Two brothers who, at times, certainly had feelings of anger towards one another.  Seperated by both miles and the passing of years, each lived his life not knowing the other.  However, like Jacob and Esau, the Lord eventually once again brought the two brothers together.  Not for the purpose of settling of old scores, but for reconciliation.  Those who claim that time heals all wounds certainly have never met my brother and I.  Yes, we had our differences while growing up.  My brother might also be justified in his claim that his younger brother was indeed a terrorist.  Guilty as charged!  However, as with Jacob and Esau, this was never about settling old scores from long ago.  In the end, love won out.

1Now Jacob lifted his eyes and looked, and there, Esau was coming, and with him were four hundred men. So he divided the children among Leah, Rachel, and the two maidservants. 2And he put the maidservants and their children in front, Leah and her children behind, and Rachel and Joseph last. 3Then he crossed over before them and bowed himself to the ground seven times, until he came near to his brother. 4But Esau ran to meet him, and embraced him, and fell on his neck and kissed him, and they wept.
Genesis 33: 1 - 4 NKJV

One of the things I've struggled most with this week was how I could even put myself in my brothers situation.  Yet, those are old shoes.  Indeed, unless we walk in another persons shoes we may never know their experiences.  I get it.  My bro and I have lived two totally different lives despite being of the same family.  The issue isn't to reclaim the years we've lost, but to cherish what we have left.  There is a old saying which claims that those who forget the past are doomed to repeat it.  I don't forget the past, but what's done is done.  Did Esau slay his brother for his transgressions?  No, for he recognised that his own love for his brother overcame what happened before.  So it is with my brother and I.  I don't know where he's been, but I do know that love and forgiveness can conquer years of being apart.  Those old shoes aren't hard to fill, but all too often we fail to do so.  All too often we find it easier to be a critic than to see things from another persons perspective.  A friend of mine has a saying that more often than not we have more in common than we do differences.  Amen brother!  What have I gone through that others haven't?  What challanges have I faced which are not common to those around me?  I admit that I have been guilty of being blind to the point of view of others.  Old shoes are hard to fill.  One good thing with old shoes, however, is that they can be passed down to someone else.  I may not have walked a mile in my brothers worn out shoes, but through my own love and forgiveness I can overcome years of bad feelings.

Last night I dreamed I died and stood outside those pearly gates
When suddenly I realized there must be some mistake
If they know half the things I've done they'll never let me in
Then somewhere from the other side I heard these words again
Let me tell you a secret, about a Fathers love
A secret my daddy said was just between us
See daddys don't just love their children every now and then
It's a love without end Amen

~Love without end, amen~
Georege Strait

~Scott~