Stones intro sampler - Flipbook - Page 28
in hopes she would become a churchgoer again. And she felt the pressure to please
them. What she really needed was space to explore her faith independently.
At a time when Christians are all abuzz about the next generation leaving
the faith in record numbers, this young woman was trying to find her way back
without drawing a lot of attention. Like a startled deer, she was wary, concerned
that her parents would pounce at any slight movement toward faith in Jesus.
She and I met several times after that luncheon, and each time we were
together, she unpacked parts of her story. She was inching back toward Christ and working through what she
Jacob’s life so far had
called “the shame of a failed marriage.”
been sheltered. He
But what she wanted to talk about most was God’s
had been the son who
faithfulness in spite of our unworthiness. She was
shocked to find out that I shared those feelings of
preferred his mother’s
unworthiness. I continue, to this day, to feel uneasy
company and followed
about God’s undeserved grace. There’s a tension
her advice. He had
between knowing how undeserving I am to be loved
shown himself to be an
by God and accepting that he freely offers his love to
untrustworthy schemer.
me anyway.
Now, however, he is
This woman and I had little else in common. But
thrust out on a new
the bond we shared is something I’m betting you and
journey, where he will
I share too: the uneasy appreciation of God’s grace.
Fully aware of her faults, her mistakes, and her
have to learn to survive
doubts, the young woman from the luncheon wrestled
on his own, without the
through them all to embrace God’s faithfulness. I’m
help of his parents.1
trying to do the same thing in my own faith journey.
Jesudason Baskar Jeyaraj, “Genesis,”
in South Asia Bible Commentary
It meant a lot to me then that she confided in me.
And now, as I reflect on her story, I’m also encouraged
that some of our deepest struggles were shared by the
brothers and sisters in the faith who came before us.
Much like the young woman at the luncheon, a man in the Bible named Jacob
was discovering his faith apart from his very religious parents, Isaac and Rebekah.
Jacob came from the most famous faith family in Christian history. God had
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