Present?

Jacob was still a scheming, dishonest, sneaky person.  In this week's reading from Genesis 28:10-19,  he cheated his brother out of the family blessing.  His brother was out to kill him and Jacob was on the run.

The story continues to bother me.  But this reading isn't about Jacob’s mistakes.  It is about God's presence in the best of times and in the worst of times.  It communicates this.

• If you’re running, God is present
• If you’re standing still, God is present.
• If you’re celebrating, God is present.
• If you’ve failed, God is present.
• If you’re doing wrong, God is present.

It’s really hard for me to wrap my mind around all of that.

What good is a presence that communicates, through silence and inaction, an approval of violence, retaliation, and retribution?