GOD is...
calm | "care-less" | elegant | faithful | happy | kindred | optimistic | passionate | valiant | vulnerable
God is kindred
God is incredibly kind. Beyond that, He is empathetic and kindred. He knows all our sin, fears, and weaknesses, and He earnestly yearns to meet us, hold us, carry us...just LOVE OUR SKIN OFF. Literally, but not prematurely! We cry out, with the apostle Paul: "Who shall rescue me from this body of death?" (Romans 7: 24). God says, "I'm glad you called"; Jeremiah 33:3; Romans 8.
He wants to be more than just 'kin' and the ultimate kindred spirit. He waits for us to invite him into our lives and fill us with mind-boggling, flowing joy, forever; Rev. 3:20; Psalm 30:5; Isaiah 61:3,7.
In the Old Testament, Jacob is infamous. His day of reckoning would start at dawn (Genesis 32), so he wrestled with the "angel of the Lord" all night. It may have been a theophany, i.e. the Lord himself. Finally, having struggled all night, the Lord merely "touched" Jacob's hip (vs. 25) and dislocated it. But Jacob, now on the ground, still wouldn't let go. The Lord asked "What's your name?" which was Jacob's confession time: "I'm a heel-grabber from birth, I stole my brother's birthright and paternal blessing, stole my wife, etc." Then Jacob asked the winning wrestler to identify Himself. In marked contrast, the Wrestler could have said: I'm the Wonderful Counselor, the Mighty God, the Everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace; Isaiah 9:6. But He didn't.
Once we take a good look at who GOD is (Exodus 3:14 "JHWH), and see ourselves in marked contrast...we're changed. God uses myriad means to get His message across to us. But it's always with absolute care and compassion. He is the quintessential Kindred who "sticks closer than a brother"; Proverbs 18:24. That is SOME superglue!
In Jacob's case, rather than identifying Himself, God renamed Jacob, now to be called Israel: "Prince of God". At sunrise, Jacob limped a little, but was internally changed big time. He was blessed. Like the song: "I am loved. I am loved. I can risk loving you, for the One who knows me best, loves me most."
