# 311 Reconciliation

The Book of Genesis

Day 311

Ge 33:4 But Esau ran to meet him, and embraced him, and fell on his neck and kissed him, and they wept.

Jacob has been away from home for 20 years. He left because Esau had vowed to kill him because Jacob had stolen Esau’s birthright and tricked his father into giving him the blessing. There was bad blood between these two brothers.

But look what happens when God enters the picture!

God has been working on the heart of Jacob, he has brought the deceiver Jacob to a place of repentance. He has humbled him and in that humility, God takes a bitter, hateful, manipulative relationship between family members and restores them to where they inwardly long to be.

Read this verse again.

Isn’t that the longing of your own heart? Don’t you desire to have that kind of relationship with that parent, or sibling, or child in your family?  Don’t put it off another day! Get the ball rolling toward reconciliation!

Start with prayer! Pray God’s blessing on that person. Then spend some time allowing God the Holy Spirit to convict you of any wrongdoing or wrong attitude on your part. Ask God to help you forgive any wrongdoing on their part, remembering that your sins are just as responsible for putting Jesus on the cross as theirs.

Then, ask God to help you see the positive qualities of that person. What are some of the good times and seasons you remember with them? Look hard if you have to, they are there.  As you humble yourself before God, you will begin to see the good qualities of others and God will begin to do a good work in your own heart.

Then watch for opportunities to have meaningful contact with that person. When you find it, cross that bridge.  Make the contact.  Visit them, phone them, write them letters, all the while affirming them and concentrating on the good things.

Steadfastly do these things, and I believe you can have the same experience  that Esau and Jacob had….an embrace, a kiss, some tears, and an exchange of those three words we all long to hear. “I love you.”