By Mike Caton

Genesis 48:10-11, Now Israel’s eyes were failing because of old age, and he could hardly see. So Joseph brought his sons close to him, and his father kissed them and embraced them. Israel said to Joseph, “I never expected to see your face again, and now God has allowed me to see your children too.”

Israel’s eyes were failing because of his age, we read in chapter 47 that he died when he was 147 years old. So, it is only natural to expect some changes toward the end of his life. But his mind seems to still be sharp, and he wants to bless Joseph’s sons, who have come to see him. These boys are really young men, born to Joseph in Egypt before Israel and the rest of the family arrive. We also read that Jacob lived in Egypt seventeen years, so we can see these boys are not children.

Joseph brought the boys close to their grandfather, so he could see them, so he could love on them, hugging and kissing them. We need to be willing to express our love to others as well. Far too often, we want to withhold our affections for some reason; we don’t think it is manly, we are afraid of being hurt, or something else. But we need to learn to tell the people we love that we love them, while there is still time. Things happen, lives change, people move on, death comes, and we need to take advantage of the opportunities we have. Jacob says he never expected to see Joseph again, and yet he has and he has seen his sons as well. What a blessing!

But doesn’t God bless us in the same way? It might not be with seeing our family, though that is a tremendous blessing. But think about the blessings God gives us each and every day, if we have the eyes to see them. There is much beauty in our physical world; sunrises and sunsets, flowers, green fields at this time of year, animals out enjoying the creation, and so forth. There are blessings of family, not just seeing them with our physical eyes, but having them near, having people who love us and whom we love, having folks to depend on, and so forth. There are blessings of the spirit; grace, mercy, love, God’s compassion, holiness, strength, and so on. The blessings God has given us are limitless, but sometimes we simply don’t have eyes to see them. We need to learn to look, and we need to learn to be grateful.

Father, open my eyes. In Jesus’ name, amen.

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