“Now you have gone off because you longed to return to your father’s
household. But why did you steal my gods?” Genesis 31:30
Due to sour relations, Jacob was fleeing from Laban, his father-in-law whom he had lived with and worked for, for many years.
Jacob was fleeing back to the land of his fathers. He was taking with him his entire family, which comprised his two wives Leah and Rachel, both Laban’s daughters, and his children.
Without the knowledge of Jacob, Rachel had stolen her father’s household gods and was taking them with her.
When Laban got wind that Jacob had fled, he pursued Jacob and in seven days Laban caught up with Jacob. That’s when he asked this important question: “Now you have gone off because you longed to return to your father’s household. But why did you steal my gods?” Genesis 31:30
Laban thought it was Jacob who had stolen the gods.
I want to put Laban’s question into today’s context. I, therefore, rephrase it as follows: “Now that you have returned to your God, or have given your life to Him, why do you cling onto the things that you should have left in the kingdom from whence you came?”
The conduct that some Christians cling to does not have a place in God’s kingdom; so why continue with it?
God does not expect the Christian to remain conformed to the world; instead, He expects the Christian to be continually transformed, continually renewed [Romans 12:2]. It starts with one’s willingness to be transformed; if the Christian is unwilling or is unconcerned, God cannot help them to achieve this.
What this means exactly is that to gain Christ and to be found in Him, one will of necessity have to suffer a loss.
You lose things (even relations) that were at the core of your heart, but which have no place in your new life. I do not have to list them here; you can easily and within a minute draw up a list of ten such things, some of which you could still be clinging onto up to this day.
Consider for a moment the kind of attitude Paul had. The attitude is summed up in the man’s own words. Listen: “What is more, I consider everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them garbage, that I may gain Christ.” Philippians 3:8
Yes, garbage they should be to you, and garbage they should forever be. That should be your attitude as well.
Paul said he lost all things. Imagine the realm in which the man lived!
Consider also how Paul described the worth or importance of knowing Jesus Christ; Paul said the worth is ‘surpassing’. Now this is deep.
Food for thought, isn’t it?
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