The Perfect Father

   Grandparents often joke with their children about getting the same kind of children they were, especially if they were rascals.  "Just you wait," they say.  "Your children will be just like you when you were growing up."  Often that is true.

 Let's continue to look at Jacob and his life for a moment.  Yes, Jacob showed favoritism among his sons and they were rivals for his affection.  Where might he have experienced favoritism and sibling rivalry in his own life?  Jacob had a twin brother named Esau.  He and Esau were rivals for their parents' affection.  The Scripture tells us that Esau was a hunter and a man of the open country while Jacob was a quiet man who stayed at home.  Their father Isaac loved Esau, and their mother Rebekah loved Jacob.

  So Jacob grew up with favoritism being shown by his parents and in rivalry with his brother Esau (Genesis 25:19 -27:45).  As a father himself, Jacob showed favoritism among his sons and experienced rivalry among them too.  His boys turned out just like him and his brother Esau.

  For reflection:  What habits of my parents have I carried forward into my life?  Are they good or bad habits?

  Let us pray.  Father God, I thank you for my parents.  I thank you for the love they showed to me and that they did their best to raise me to adulthood.  I thank you for being my Father also, for keeping me under your wing even today.

  I ask you to help me forgive my parents for not being everything that I needed them to be.  I repent of judging them for what they did and did not do.  I forgive them for not being perfect parents.  (It is important to forgive them as specifically as you can in this type of prayer.)  I ask you, Father, to bring to my mind the other things for which I need to forgive my parents.  (Pay attention to memories that come up in the next couple of weeks.  As God brings these to mind, forgive your parents for them.)

  I repent of carrying on my parents' bad habits in my own life and with my children.  Forgive me for  the bad ways I have acted toward my children (again, be specific and pay attention to memories that arise in the next couple of weeks).  Help me to see my children through your loving eyes, Father.  You are the only perfect Father.  Help me to be more like you.

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