​Love and Hate | Intimacy With Christ | Richard Wafford

Romans 9:13: “As it is written, “Jacob I have loved, but Esau I have hated.’” 
 
What does it mean that God loves Jacob but hates Esau? Don’t misunderstand these verses. In Genesis 33:9, God blessed both Jacob and Esau with leadership skills and an abundance of goods. But God disciplined Jacob by restraining him from sin and putting him through trials, heartaches, and emotional and physical pain to show him the error of his ways, bring him closer to God, and lead him to walk a righteous path before Him. For Esau, He withdrew His discipline because Esau rejected his birthright and the firstborn son’s blessing (Gen. 25:33-34); Esau rejected God’s work through him.
 
God strongly wants to work through you and me so that His glory and goodness may flow through your life and reach others, serving as a testimony to the reality of God. You must allow God to work through you. If you reject God’s work through you, God has no other choice but to allow you to go your own way and make your own choices in sin, without Him restraining you through trials and consequences. ~ Richard
 
Copyright 2026. All Rights Reserved © Richard W. Wafford
Many of these lessons are in my new devotional book, “Warrior of the Cross, 40 Day Discipleship Challenge & Journal.”