Nothing hurts more than wounds from someone closest to you. It rolls off my back as if I were a duck when some stranger lashes out at me and wounds me. Of course, it still leaves a scar, but it isn’t quite as deep as when someone nearest and dearest to you stabs you in the back. Nothing leaves a wound in your heart like a wound from your nearest and dearest.
That makes healing and moving toward forgiveness a difficult task. When the wound is so deep, how do we move toward and into forgiveness for them? When reminders of their sin are constant, how do we let it go? And so we desperately pray, forgive me Lord, for my sins and help me to forgive those who sin against me.
Joseph is a model for us when it comes to forgiveness. There seems to be no grudge, no bitterness, no desire or for revenge; though Joseph certainly had it in his authority to get even with them. Yet, there isn’t even a hint of it through each and every one of his interactions with them.
What can we learn from him? How can we move toward forgiveness? We’ll answer these questions this weekend as we dive into God’s Word. To get ready, take a look at Genesis 50:15-26 especially and maybe even Genesis 45-50. This will give you the context and get your thoughts thinking about learning from Joseph to forgive.
For forgiving hearts is how Jesus taught us to pray. Forgiveness is what Jesus calls us to do. This is the important teaching from God for us this weekend as we learn to forgive.
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