My cousins, who lived only two miles away when we were growing up, weren’t allowed to interact with my family. They never came to reunions or talked to us at the local grocery store. Their parents said it was because we didn’t attend church and we’d be a bad influence on them. What a surprise when many years later, a cousin attended my eldest brother’s funeral! He approached us one by one and humbly apologized for their attitude. Our relationship with him began to be restored.

Jacob needed a humble heart to seek restoration with his twin brother, Esau. Jacob, the second born, had connived against Esau: he stole his brother’s birthright (25:19-34) and deceived his elderly father into giving him the firstborn’s blessing (26:34–27:40). Furious, Esau threatened to kill him, so Jacob had run to another country.

Years later, Jacob wanted to return home but was afraid the deep division between him and his brother wouldn’t be resolved without bloodshed (32:6-8). When he and Esau finally met, he humbly “bowed down to the ground seven times as he approached his brother” (33:3). He feared Esau would kill him, but instead Esau came running “and embraced him” (v. 4).

Whether we’ve harmed another or have been harmed, it takes humility, openness, and often much work to heal the brokenness. But God can and will help us.