I was startled when someone said to me, “I was an accident.” Have you ever heard that? Usually, someone means that their parents had not planned to have them at that time. Is anybody actually an accident?
Once again, Genesis is descriptive not prescriptive as Leah follows Rachel’s lead, giving her maidservant to Jacob to have more children. Gad and Asher were born to Jacob through Zilpah, Leah’s servant. The story raises so many questions. We are trying to interpret ancient customs through our modern lenses, and it seems strange to us.
Were Gad and Asher part of God’s plan? Clearly yes. No life is an accident. We may wonder at the circumstances surrounding a birth, but we see every child conceived in the womb as one created in the image of God. Gad represented good fortune to Leah and Jacob. Asher gave them joy.
Pregnancies, planned and unplanned, produce image-bearers of God. Every child we see was created in the image of God. So words matter. You and I are not accidents of chance. We are humans created in the image of our God. When we choose to believe in Christ and give our lives to him, “we become children of God, not by natural descent, nor a human decision, or a husband’s will, but born of God” (John 1:12-13).
As heirs of God and joint heirs of Jesus Christ we inherit life. Mary Oliver, wrote, “So tell me, what do you plan to do with your one wild and precious life?” Give it to God. You will find great joy as a child of God!
