Then Joseph could no longer control himself before all those who stood by him, and he cried out, “Send everyone away from me.” So no one stayed with him when Joseph made himself known to his brothers. And he wept so loudly that the Egyptians heard it, and the household of Pharaoh heard it. Joseph said to his brothers, “I am Joseph. Is my father still alive?” But his brothers could not answer him, so dismayed were they at his presence. Then Joseph said to his brothers, “Come closer to me.” And they came closer. He said, “I am your brother, Joseph, whom you sold into Egypt. And now do not be distressed, or angry with yourselves, because you sold me here; for God sent me before you to preserve life. For the famine has been in the land these two years; and there are five more years in which there will be neither plowing nor harvest. God sent me before you to preserve for you a remnant on earth, and to keep alive for you many survivors. So it was not you who sent me here, but God; he has made me a father to Pharaoh, and lord of all his house and ruler over all the land of Egypt. Hurry and go up to my father and say to him, ‘Thus says your son Joseph, God has made me lord of all Egypt; come down to me, do not delay. You shall settle in the land of Goshen, and you shall be near me, you and your children and your children’s children, as well as your flocks, your herds, and all that you have. I will provide for you there—since there are five more years of famine to come—so that you and your household, and all that you have, will not come to poverty.’ And now your eyes and the eyes of my brother Benjamin see that it is my own mouth that speaks to you. You must tell my father how greatly I am honored in Egypt, and all that you have seen. Hurry and bring my father down here.” Then he fell upon his brother Benjamin’s neck and wept, while Benjamin wept upon his neck. And he kissed all his brothers and wept upon them; and after that his brothers talked with him. (Genesis 45:1-15, NRSV)
What would you do if someone you had hurt badly and you thought was dead, was now standing in front of you and able to make you sit in prison for the rest of your life or worse?
Most of us will never be in the place Joseph’s brothers were, but we have been in similar places standing before those we have hurt. We fear the worst in these situations, not knowing how the other will act, but knowing they are justified in almost whatever they do.
But here Joseph shows mercy, as God does to us. Joseph shows grace to his brothers. For the family he had lost was now back with him, and he could be reconciled to them.
Sometimes the things we do intended to harm, are the things that lead others to greater fulfillment in the life that God has called them to. Adversity is not the absence of God, but striving through adversity knowing God is with us, will lead us to a greater understanding of god’s grace and mercy, so we will be better equipped to show these traits to others.
aSacredRebel 