I’m thankful for forgiveness. It’s an amazing gift. Usually, undeserved, but an ever present reminder of the Love of God. Here’s an idea I had from the story of Joseph:
People with impure motives will always question your pure motives. It seems to me that Joseph’s brothers thought he was going to turn on them once their father died. Their hearts might have changed after the years they were apart, but they still might not have understood the purity of another’s motives. Maybe the idea of forgiveness was still foreign to them.
Their motives in the past were impure and I think they might have assumed Joseph’s might be as well. This is strictly assumption on my part, because this is not stating in scripture that they didn’t trust Joseph. But it’s quite interesting to me that they had a fear of what might happen to them once their father passed.
When others have done wrong, it’s hard for them to believe that someone else would be willing to do right by them still. It’s surprising that people can forgive such wrongdoing. But, whether they choose to believe it or not, through Jesus Christ, forgiveness is very possible.
Today, be that surprise to someone. Shock those who have wronged you by having pure motives and loving them and forgiving them, just as Christ forgave you. In the end, you’ll be better and hopefully so will they.
Genesis 50:14-21 After burying Jacob, Joseph returned to Egypt with his brothers and all who had accompanied him to his father’s burial. But now that their father was dead, Joseph’s brothers became fearful. “Now Joseph will show his anger and pay us back for all the wrong we did to him,” they said.So they sent this message to Joseph: “Before your father died, he instructed us to say to you: ‘Please forgive your brothers for the great wrong they did to you—for their sin in treating you so cruelly.’ So we, the servants of the God of your father, beg you to forgive our sin.” When Joseph received the message, he broke down and wept. Then his brothers came and threw themselves down before Joseph. “Look, we are your slaves!” they said.But Joseph replied, “Don’t be afraid of me. Am I God, that I can punish you? You intended to harm me, but God intended it all for good. He brought me to this position so I could save the lives of many people. No, don’t be afraid. I will continue to take care of you and your children.” So he reassured them by speaking kindly to them.