Undefeated by Dysfunction

Jake stole his father’s estate from his older brother. When his brother found out, he threatened to kill Jake.

To save his skin, Jake ran away from home. He ran all the way to a different country. There he fell in love with a beautiful woman. Jake wanted to marry his true love. But his father-in-law tricked him. Jake ended up marrying his love’s sister, instead!

Since having more than one wife was permitted in this country, Jake married his true love, too. But now he had two wives!

Though having multiple wives was permitted, it certainly wasn’t prudent. The two sisters fought for their husband’s attention. The older, unloved sister blessed Jake with children. But his favorite wife had trouble conceiving. So, she encouraged Jake to get a girlfriend. His girlfriend could give Jake children.

This ticked off the older sister. So, she told Jake that he should get a second girlfriend. He could have children with her, too!

After all this, the favored wife gave Jake two sons. Sadly, she died in childbirth after the second son.

In the end, through his two wives and two girlfriends, Jake had twelve sons.

You could say that there was a lot of dysfunction in Jake’s family.

Largo Expansion Cream is best for you such as taking the right dosage appropriate for your age and health condition. buy sildenafil viagra Some people also have usa cheap viagra hallucinations and unusual tastes and smells. Leading a healthy lifestyle can help manage ED in online levitra canada long run. As, I was using canadian pharmacies viagra it for the first time I use it? For reasons yet to be determined but it is believed that the body’s white blood cells in the blood and urine are also increased.

This sounds like a reality TV show. Yet, this was reality! This is the story of God’s servant, Jacob and his family. You can read about it in Genesis 29-35. God isn’t shy about airing the dirty laundry of those he has called to be in his family of faith.

God understands that families tainted by sin are going to be dysfunctional. But that dysfunction will not discontinue God’s will being done.

God gave the promise of humanity’s Savior through Abraham, through Abraham’s son Isaac, through Isaac’s son Jacob, and through Jacob’s son Judah. And he would keep that promise!

God created an entire nation out of Jacob’s dysfunctional family! Jacob’s less-favored wife, Leah, gave him six sons. His favorite wife, Rachel, gave him two sons. Leah’s maidservant, Bilhah, bore Jacob two sons. So did Rachel’s maidservant, Zilpah. Out of these twelve sons came the twelve tribes of Israel. (Israel was another name for Jacob.)

Jacob’s sons became so jealous of their second youngest brother, Joseph, that they sold him into slavery in Egypt. But God used this dysfunction to build a nation!

Through an extraordinary series of circumstances, God moved Joseph from Egyptian slave to second-in-command of all of Egypt. God then moved Jacob’s family from the Promised Land of Canaan into the land of Egypt for preservation during the seven-year famine. Four hundred years later, God moved the nation of Israel – now numbering over 2 million people – back to the Promised Land of Canaan.

God used the sinful dysfunction of Jacob’s family to preserve his family of faith. He used Jacob’s family dysfunction to keep his promise to bless all nations.

In time, God sent his Son, Jesus, through the family of Judah – the fourth son born to Leah.

Through Jesus, God brings us all together into one family – a dysfunctional family to be sure, but a family of faith.

A family of baptized believers. A family of forgiveness. A family of prayer. A family of praise. A family built on God’s Word and Sacraments. A family where God is our Father, God’s Son is our Brother, and God the Holy Spirit is our family Counselor.

The devil wants to sow discord and division through dysfunction. But God used the dysfunction within Jacob’s family to create the nation of Israel and bring the Savior of nations through that particular nation.

Satan still sows dysfunction within families.
Our Lord sows the seeds of unity, love, and grace within his families.

God remains undefeated by dysfunction.