“Now please forgive the sins of the servants of the God of your father.” When their message came to him, Joseph wept. (Gen. 50:17)
I do not mind taking out the trash. I honestly don’t mind it, and my wife appreciates that I do it. What she does not appreciate, however, is when I fail to put a new bag in the can after I’ve taken out the trash. You may be shaking your head at me while you read this, but let me defend myself.
I’m often not consciously choosing to leave the trash can without a bag in it, I just simply forget. After several years living by myself and then being married, I still have to be reminded of it. We all have those things in our lives. We all have little and big examples where we need to be reminded of something or continue to change the way we think about something.
After Joseph’s brothers betrayed him, sinned against him, and counted him as dead, he forgave them and desired reconciliation. However, they did not seem to fully get the idea, because near the end of the story of his life, they still thought he desired to get revenge and punish them. Joseph wept in response. I wonder if he wept because after all those years and conversations of repentance and forgiveness, his brothers still did not get the idea. They didn’t understand grace and mercy. Their hearts were still hard toward him and God. They didn’t comprehend.
What “idea” is God trying to get through to you today?
Joel J. Gorveatte deeply loves Jesus, his wife, and the church. He serves as the worship and next steps pastor at Journey [Wesleyan] Church in Grand Rapids, Michigan.
© 2021 Wesleyan Publishing House. Reprinted from Light from the Word. Used by permission. Scriptures taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®.
