Genesis 33:16
So Esau returned that day on his way unto Seir.

Esau leaves the scene here looking very good. And in one sense, he was good. He had every reason to stay angry with Jacob, but he let it go. He did not cling to the offense. He only took Jacob’s gift when Jacob pressed him to do so. He even offered men to help escort Jacob safely on the road. If Esau lived in our world, people would say, “That is a fine man right there.” Refined. Decent. Respectable. Generous.

But the Bible reads him very differently.

Hebrews 12:16-17
Lest there be any fornicator, or profane person, as Esau, who for one morsel of meat sold his birthright. For ye know how that afterward, when he would have inherited the blessing, he was rejected: for he found no place of repentance, though he sought it carefully with tears.

That is a heavy word, because it reminds us that outward polish is not the same thing as inward life. A man may be courteous, kind, and gracious in the eyes of everybody around him, and still be a stranger to God. He may be admired socially and dead spiritually.

People get mixed up right here.

They say, “But my neighbor is so nice. My coworker is so generous. My uncle is so giving.” And that may all be true. They may be gems. They may sparkle. Meanwhile, the Christian sitting next to you may still be rough around the edges. He may not shine much at all. He may be more cabbage than diamond. But there is one massive difference between the two. A diamond is polished, beautiful, and admired, but it is dead. A cabbage is plain, ordinary, and not much to look at, but it is alive.

That is the issue.

We say, “But Christians can be rude. Christians can be awkward. Christians can still have so many flaws.” Yes, sometimes that is painfully true. But the great issue is not whether a person has polish. The great issue is whether a person has life.

Paul says it plainly.

Ephesians 2:4-6
But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us,
Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;)
And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus.

That is our testimony. Before Christ, however polished we may have looked, we were dead. Dead in sins. Dead in trespasses. Dead men can still look impressive for a while, but they are still dead. Then God stepped in. Rich in mercy. Great in love. Full of grace. And He made us alive together with Christ.

That changes everything.

So yes, maybe before Christ we looked like diamonds. Maybe we were admired. Maybe we carried ourselves well. But without Him, we were still dead. And now, even if we sometimes look more like cabbage than crystal, there is life in us. We are growing. We are changing. We are not what we were, and we are not yet what we will be.

That is the hope of the Christian life.

Esau’s fatal flaw was not bad manners. It was not a lack of social grace. It was deeper than that. He had no heart for God. He had no sense of need. He had no appetite for grace. He could say, “I have enough,” and mean it from the core of his being. That is a dangerous place for any man to be, because the one who thinks he has enough will never come broken to the Lord.

Jacob is altogether different. He is complicated. He is flawed. He is still capable of saying the wrong thing and taking the crooked path. But underneath all of that, there is something in him Esau does not have. Jacob knows he needs God. Jacob knows God has dealt graciously with him. Jacob understands grace.

That is why Jacob goes down in spiritual history as a giant.

Not because he was cleaner than Esau.
Because he was needier than Esau.

Not because he was smoother than Esau.
Because he knew he could not make it without grace.

And that is still what the Lord is looking for. Not polished people who admire themselves. Not self made men and women who feel they have enough already. He is looking for those who know they do not deserve His goodness, and yet cannot get over the fact that He keeps pouring it out anyway.

That kind of person will grow.

1 John 3:2
Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is.

I like that. We are alive now, but not finished yet. We are growing now, but not complete yet. The grace that found us is still working on us, and one day, when we see Him, that work will be brought to fullness.

Oh, glorious day.