Ellen Chauvin | Soaked & Sprouting

Soaked in God's Word, Sprouting Seeds of Faith

Forgiveness in Action

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I don’t know how Joseph did it. 

His brothers threw him into a pit and left him to die. Realizing they couldn’t profit from that, they pulled him out of the pit and sold him to a tribe of Nomads headed to Egypt. If that wasn’t enough, they led Joseph’s father to believe that a wild animal had eaten him. 

In Egypt, Joseph was falsely accused of trying to seduce his bosses wife. That landed him in prison. He stayed there, forgotten, for many years. All because his brothers were jealous of him and got rid of him.

Yet, in the end, Joseph forgave his brothers. He loved them and reconciled with them. 

I have the personality that can hang on to a hurt and nurse a grudge. I’m much better than I used to be in my younger days (Praise God!), but I still struggle with how Joseph could be so very forgiving to his brothers. 

I know in scripture it tells us many times over that the Lord was with Joseph. When he was sold into slavery, when he was imprisoned, the Lord was with him. I understand that this is one reason Joseph could forgive so easily.

But there’s one small verse in scripture that I believe sheds a bit more light on Joseph’s forgiving heart.

Here’s some of the back story:

Joseph’s father, Jacob, stole his brother Esau’s birthright from him. Esau was so angry, he threatened to kill Jacob. Jacob fled and stayed with his uncle Laban for 20 years. Finally, he headed home, with his wives and children. He heard that his brother Esau was coming to meet him with 400 men! Jacob was terrified, so  “He put the servants and their children first, Leah and her children after them, and Rachel and Joseph last.” Genesis 33:2. 

Little Joseph was there when Jacob and Esau met up after so many years. He saw his father Jacob bow in humility to the brother he had wronged. Then he saw his Uncle Esau forgive his father Jacob.

  “But Esau ran to meet him (Jacob), threw his arms around his neck, kissed him, and they wept.” Genesis 33:4

[tweetthis]Joseph saw forgiveness in action. [/tweetthis]

I wonder, all those years later, when he saw his own brothers, if Joseph thought of that moment? I wonder if he remembered the sweetness of reconciliation and love? 

Esau modeled forgiveness, and Jacob modeled humility. Joseph and his brothers learned from what they had seen. 

‘Then his brothers also came and fell down before him and said, “Behold, we are your servants.”

But Joseph said to them, “Do not be afraid, for am I in God’s place? As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good in order to bring about this present result, to preserve many people alive. So therefore, do not be afraid; I will provide for you and your little ones.” So he comforted them and spoke kindly to them.’ Genesis 50:18-21

We must have a willingness to forgive, even when it doesn’t seem possible. As He was with Joseph, God will be with us and strengthen us when we choose to let go of anger and bitterness.

Is there someone for whom you can model forgiveness today? A child, a grandchild, a friend? And when they asked you how it’s possible to forgive so much, tell them how God was there for you. Tell them about HIS love and forgiveness. 

May we all be an example of loving kindness and forgiveness to others today and always.

Grace be with you,

The Habit of Forgiving

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Numbers are constantly floating around in my head. Odd, I know. But I’m an accountant by day and writer at night. I can’t seem to help myself.

Back in the years I used to run…well jog…well wog, (walk and jog). I would do math in my head to forget about the heat and the no pain/no gain thing (it was opposite for me – I had lots of pain and no gain). Yep, the old multiplication tables rolled over and over in my head. Or division. Or whatever. I would calculate how fast I was running a mile. Er, how slow I was wogging – whatever!

When I see numbers in scripture, I instinctively do the math. Reading through the book of Numbers, I double checked God’s work. Guess what? He was right! God’s always right. 

Then I got to the scripture in Matthew about forgiveness. Peter was asking Jesus how many times he had to forgive someone who sins against him.

“Up to seven times?” he asked, knowing that the rabbis taught that three times was enough. Jesus’ response?

“I tell you, not as many as seven,” Jesus said to him, “but seventy times seven.” Matthew 18:22 HCSB 

So of course, the accountant in me multiplied it out, because I wanted to know: How many times do I have to forgive? Don’t judge – you know you’ve done it too! 

Four hundred ninety times. Thats a lot of counting, and a lot of forgiving. It seems to me that it contradicts 1 Corinthians 13: “love keeps no record of wrongs.” And we are called to love, because God first loved us.

Let’s think about it. It would take a lot of time and planning and record keeping to track 490 offenses against us. I may be an accountant, but I don’t enjoy the drudgery of all that paperwork. How about you?

Here’s the funny thing: 

[tweetthis]The more we forgive, the less we count.[/tweetthis]

By the time we have forgiven someone that many times, we are in the habit of forgiving, aren’t we? Forgiveness has become second nature. 

Wow! I love the way Jesus grows us, don’t you? He takes something like math, and uses it to show us how to forgive others. Because really, who wants to keep counting? It’s a burden. 

And forgiving others is freeing. 

My sweet friends, let’s walk in freedom!

Grace be with you,