Forgiveness

Verse of the Day:
Genesis 42:6-8, 25-28


Joseph was in charge of the country; he sold grain to all its people. His brothers came and bowed down before him with their faces to the ground. When Joseph saw his brothers, he recognized them, but he treated them like strangers and spoke harshly to them. “Where do you come from?” he asked. “From the land of Canaan to buy food,” they replied. Although Joseph recognized his brothers, they did not recognize him. Joseph then gave orders to fill their containers with grain, return each man’s money to his sack, and give them provisions for their journey. This order was carried out. They loaded the grain on their donkeys and left.


The musical this year is Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat. So, me being the nerd I am, I have been watching the movie and listening to the soundtrack nonstop. Last night, I actually read the whole story of Joseph in the Bible. SO COOL! The whole story is about something EVEN BETTER than getting even – forgiveness.


Here’s the shortened story of Joseph. Joseph had 11 brothers. Joseph was the favorite son, though, and all of his brothers got extremely jealous of him. So one day, they got so fed up that they decided to sell him. So basically Joseph went through a lot of rough stuff, but he always managed to get by because he had a special talent of interpreting dreams. So, he went to Egypt and interpreted the Pharaoh’s dream and the Pharaoh made Joseph his right hand man. He had a LOT of power. At this time, his brothers and were STARVING at their own home in Canaan. They heard that Egypt was selling food, so they made the trek there to beg for food. When they got there, they didn’t realize that the dazzling young ruler who met them and sold them grain was his own BROTHER. Joseph could have kicked them out. He could have made them starve. Because remember that his brothers were the ones who SOLD him. But Joseph filled their sacks with food and FORGAVE them. Joseph returned so much good for so much evil.


The Simple Truth: Forgiveness is better than getting even.


Reflect: Do I purposely get even with people when they do something mean to me, just to pay them back?


Apply: Next time you feel like getting even with someone, surprise them with kindness and forgive them.


Pray:
Lord, help me take the story of Joseph and his brothers and apply it to my life by forgiving others even when it is hard.


Let your light shine.
-Lo