During the past few weeks, we went through a series of blog entries based on Jacob’s dream, and his revelation of the existence of God.

“Then Jacob awoke from his sleep and said, “Surely there is a LORD is in this place, and I did not know it.”” Genesis 28:16

In conclusion of this study, I would like to remind us all that we, just like Jacob, woke up from our own dream, and came to the realization that God is real and very close to us. That great privilege of being called His child also comes with a great responsibility. Rav Shaul wrote it wonderfully in his letters to the Corinthians:

“For the love of Messiah controls us, having concluded this, that one died for all, therefore all died; and He died for all, that they who live should no longer live for themselves, but for Him who died and rose again on their behalf. Therefore from now on we recognize no man according to the flesh; even though we have known Messiah according to the flesh, yet now we know Him thus no longer. Therefore if any man is in Messiah, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come. Now all these things are from God, who reconciled us to Himself through Messiah, and gave us the ministry of reconciliation, namely, that God was in Messiah reconciling the world to Himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and He has committed to us the word of reconciliation. Therefore, we are ambassadors for Messiah, as though God were entreating through us; we beg you on behalf of Messiah, be reconciled to God. He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.” 2 Corinthians 5:14-21

At that moment of accepting His love comes the reality of saying “no” to our sinful, fleshly desires. When we say, “yes” to Him, we are now living our lives for the One who died, rose again, and paid the penalty that each of us deserved, i.e. death.

But it goes beyond just saying “no” to ourselves; we must remember that we are His ambassadors on this earth (John 1:7-8). And with that come some very important questions: In what way do you represent God on this earth? Are you being a witness of Him, or of you own desires?

“And working together with Him, we also urge you not to receive the grace of God in vain” 2 Corinthians 6:1

My brothers and sisters, we have an amazing responsibility during our short time on this earth; I urge you to not receive His grace in vain! Sadly, today many who claim to be His followers are picking and choosing which parts of their lives they want to submit to His will. Or we base our decisions on what the world tells us rather than the truth of His Word. Not only does our witness suffer, but we also lose out so much in our personal relationship with Him when we do this.

Please take time this weekend to reflect upon the areas of your life that are in need of change, and where you need to fully submit to Him and His plan. It’s not easy, but it is always well worth it!

Shabbat Shalom,

Moran