Have you heard of grateful alcoholics? These people have emerged from the pain and suffering of their addiction and come out the other side to a larger and more gracious humanity than they would have possessed otherwise. They travelled a path that no one would choose, but the cumulative result was a transformative work in their lives. Perhaps you are not an alcoholic, but you face some other form of suffering and loss in which you see no redemptive purpose. Yet I can work in situations that appear to be impossible.

My people seek my presence, as you do for anyone whose company you enjoy. What does my presence mean to you? Do you think of it as the ultimate source of comfort and reassurance? This was not the experience that Jacob had when I showed up to wrestle with him. Yet who could argue that I was not present with him? Wrestling isn’t something that you can do from afar. It is the ultimate contact sport. Yet it also doesn’t meet the definition of comfort and reassurance, and as Jacob found out, there can be permanent consequences from the encounter.

In the Old Testament it was considered normal to hate your enemies and this is still the universally applicable default. But I introduced the radical concept of loving your enemies. Do you think your enemies are worthy of hatred? But hate is a characteristic of the one doing the hating, not of the one who is hated. This is reason enough for not hating. For the one who hates takes on the property of hating. Do you understand the importance of this commandment and desire to follow it? Does it seem to be an impossible task? I will accept you for your affirmation and desire.

Do you see salvation as a binary state, with the sheep on one side and the goats on the other? You could liken this to academic classes that are based on the pass/fail system. But most academic work is based on a scale of grades, so there are several levels of performance. What grade would you expect to get on a test of basic Christian doctrine? Do you think that such a test will be required for the entrance into the Kingdom of God? What grade would you expect to get on being kind to the least of these? What grade would you get on not causing offenses or causing little ones to stumble?