The White Whole Theory

When I was reading the story of Jacob and Esau recently I found it very interesting that God gave them to Isaac and Rebekah when Isaac prayed for his wife as she was unable to have children.  God's answer to Isaacs's prayer was twin sons who would continually be in conflict with one another.  And not only that when Rebekah wondered what was going on when they were struggling in her womb and asked God about it, he told her that it was Jacob that would inherit the promise from Isaac and not the firstborn Esau.  As far as we know from scripture God never tells Isaac that it will be Jacob that is going to inherit the promise, only Rebekah.  And when on his death bed Isaac calls for Esau to give him the blessing, it is Rebekah that ensures that it is Jacob that receives the blessing fulfilling what God told her when she was pregnant.  Throughout Jacobs's life we continually see that he has to fight for everything that he receives.  He has to fight for the blessing from his father that God told his mother he would have, he has to fight to get the wife he wanted after his father in law deceives him when he is getting married.  Then when he has worked for free for decades and decides to leave, his father in-law tries to leave him a pauper and he has to fight for the wealth that he receives.

And the most amazing thing about this was that this was the blessing of God on his life.  It was because of this continual struggle that in Genesis 32:28 when God comes to him he can struggle with God and prevail becoming no longer Jacob but Israel, the one who fought with God and man and won, the father of the nation of Israel.

We could probably look at David's life and see a similar story.  A shepherd boy who was anointed king well before he had any chance of being crowned king, but who became a man after God's own heart and whose son Solomon was the wisest man to have ever lived and who built the first temple of God in Jerusalem.

Accepting the truth that these scriptures reveal to us is not easy.  We equate blessing with Joy and happiness and all things nice, not conflict and struggle, not with David fleeing from Saul.  But these are part of the blessing of God because of who we will become if we allow God to lead us through them.  The blessing is who we will become and it is this goal that God sees.

When equality is talked about it is mostly talked about in terms of a person's right to be able to do something.  The argument generally takes the form of X group has been denied Y right.  While this often has positive results, this form of argument generally leads to those who disagree with the argument made, being labelled as haters whether or not they have a valid point.  This results in a politicised debate that degenerates into supporters calling those who oppose them as haters, silencing any rational reasoned debate on the issue in a bid to obtain the rights that they see as theirs.

For me the root of the problem is that what they are fighting for is not equality just the right to be able to do something.  This right to be able to do something I like to call functional equality as opposed to inherent equality.  Inherent Equality is true equality and is the recognition that we are all born equal. No matter where we are born, what our skin colour, our social status or our skills and talents we are all inherently equal and the ability to be able to do the same things as other people is not going to make us more or less equal with someone else.

That is not to say that the things that people fight for in the name of equality are not necessary.  A lot of the changes that have come about as a result of people fighting for functional equality have been necessary and made our society better.  The problem is that the granting of rights does not change the underlying cause of these problems in society.  To change the cause of these problems requires people to recognise that we are all born equal no matter our race, sex or social status and that requires a change of heart.

And changing hearts is what Christianity is all about.

Romans 3:23 For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God's glorious standard.

but,

Ezekiel 36:26 And I will give you a new heart, and I will put a new spirit in you. I will take out your stony, stubborn heart and give you a tender, responsive heart.

then,

Galations 3:28 There is no longer Jew or Gentile, slave or free, male and female. For you are all one in Christ Jesus.

Scripture quotes from (2004-07-01). Holy Bible Text Edition NLT. Tyndale House Publishers.