Life in the Dash

 DEVOTION

GENESIS

LIFE IN THE DASH

Gen 27:1-4

27:1 When Isaac was old and his eyes were so weak that he could no longer see, he called for Esau his older son and said to him, "My son." "Here I am," he answered. 2 Isaac said, "I am now an old man and don't know the day of my death. 3 Now then, get your weapons — your quiver and bow — and go out to the open country to hunt some wild game for me. 4 Prepare me the kind of tasty food I like and bring it to me to eat, so that I may give you my blessing before I die."

This is the beginning of a long narrative, considering the deception by Rebekah and Jacob of stealing the firstborn blessing that belonged to Esau. However, before we dive into the deception we should pause for a moment on this statement of Isaac to his son Esau. When Isaac calls his son Esau to tell him about his pending death and the need to give the firstborn blessing, he makes this profound statement, “I don’t know the day of my death”. Who does know the day of their death? That sounds a little doom and gloom to think about the day of our death, but the fact remains, there is going to be the day of our death. If and when that occurs and our bodies are put to rest, so to speak, they will put the year of our birth, a dash, and the year of our death.  We hear this question, “What did we do during the dash?”. It does not matter what day our last is, it is inevitable, but what we are doing in the days before our last is what we should ponder on. Our culture has determined a certain age when we are to retire from our life’s work and sit back, enjoying the fruit of our labors. How can we do that? We are a citizen of the kingdom of God and as far as we can tell there is no retirement in God’s kingdom, as we are still within the dash. The culture of this world might tell us we are finished, but that is not true either, for we are still able to contribute to society if we choose, but as a believer we know we are always supposed to be a benefit to the kingdom of God, doing that which God has called us to until the day he calls us home. We cannot just sit doing either nothing or our self-interests waiting for that last day to come. Some believers indeed have a difficult road to their last day, filled with pain, even weakness of limbs, unable to stand anymore, confined to either a chair or a bed all day, and maybe not just waiting, but hoping for that last day, giving up, in a sense of living. Maybe that is the way for all of us, we cannot tell the path God has laid out for us, and when that day will be. What we do know is that as long as we have the strength, as long as we are of sound mind, we will work as onto the Lord, doing that which he has called us to do. We are but the clay in his hands, and he molds us into whatever type of vessel best suits him and his kingdom. All we can do is keep on keeping on until He calls us home, for we are still living in the dash, so let's make it count for the kingdom.