Read Genesis 28.

Jacob was a cheat and a liar. A trickster. A scoundrel. 

He took advantage of Esau's foolishness and stole his birthright for a bowl of stew and some bread. And then, with the help of his mother, Jacob the trickster stole his brother's blessing and took what rightfully belonged to his brother.

And there's something unfair about it all that makes us wonder if Jacob will, at some point, get what he's due. If, at some point his trickery and lying will catch up with him. Maybe even God will punish him for his actions?

Then comes Jacob's dream and the promise God makes to him. "I am the Lord your God ... I will give your descendants the land on which you are lying." It turns out after all that Jacob really is God's chosen one ... baggage and all.

I know that a lot of questions come with that, but there's a lot of hope too. If God can choose someone like Jacob -- someone who seems so far from the kind of person we'd expect God to associate Himself with -- then He can also choose people like us who each fail in our own unique ways. Through Jacob, God shows us that there is no one who is too far off, there is no one that has done so much that God cannot forgive and use for His purposes. God's grace can cover any abundance of sins. And that grace gives us hope (along with a desire to live grateful lives for the grace that God freely offers).