Friday, March 13, 2009

Scripture

Genesis 45: 1-7

1 Then Joseph could no longer control himself before all his attendants, and he cried out, "Have everyone leave my presence!" So there was no one with Joseph when he made himself known to his brothers. 2 And he wept so loudly that the Egyptians heard him, and Pharaoh's household heard about it.
3 Joseph said to his brothers, "I am Joseph! Is my father still living?" But his brothers were not able to answer him, because they were terrified at his presence.

4 Then Joseph said to his brothers, "Come close to me." When they had done so, he said, "I am your brother Joseph, the one you sold into Egypt! 5 And now, do not be distressed and do not be angry with yourselves for selling me here, because it was to save lives that God sent me ahead of you. 6 For two years now there has been famine in the land, and for the next five years there will not be plowing and reaping. 7 But God sent me ahead of you to preserve for you a remnant on earth and to save your lives by a great deliverance.

Reflection

These verses remind me of a story. It’s an ancient Chinese story that I first heard from a wonderful children’s book called “Zen Shorts:”


One day a farmer’s horse broke free from the plow and before the farmer could stop it the horse had run away into the nearby mountains.

“What bad luck,” his neighbors said. “How unfortunate.”

“Maybe,” was the farmer’s reply.

The next day the farmer awoke to find that his horse had returned and was waiting patiently outside the barn. What’s more, a wild horse had followed the farmer’s horse and was also waiting patiently outside the farmer’s barn.

The neighbor’s eyed the new horse with envy.

“How lucky you are to have doubled your live stock.”

“Maybe,” was all the farmer had to say.

Later that day, the farmer’s son set about the task of breaking in the new horse. But the horse was indeed very wild and the son struggled to stay on her back. She bucked wildly and the son flew through the air landing w/ a crash and breaking his leg.

“What misfortune, neighbor!” the other villagers told the farmer.

“Well…” thought the farmer. “Maybe.”

Two days later, the farmer’s village was visited by representatives from the nation’s army. They had come to gather up all the young men to fight in battle on the frontlines of an ongoing war. But when they arrived at the farmer’s house they saw that he was too old and that his son was injured and unable to march. They passed on to the next farm.

“Wow,” sighed the neighbors. “Truly, you are the luckiest farmer in our village.”

“Maybe….”

Joseph was kidnapped by his own brother’s and sold into slavery. He was accused of rape and thrown into prison for years. Then, because he made use of a gift God has given to him, he skyrocketed to fame and fortune. But more importantly he protected thousands of people from starvation. Both the Egyptian population and the Israelite population were saved from painful deaths because earlier Joseph had been sold into slavery.

And then what happened? A new king came to power in Egypt. A man who was not part of Joseph’s social circle, and pretty soon the whole Israeli population is enslaved.

Unfortunate?

Maybe.

The most important part of this story is Joseph’s attitude. It’s all about attitude. Joseph sees his betrayers and his kidnappers for the 1st time in years and he rejoices in their presence. Joseph is able to totally forgive his aggressors because Joseph was one of those shining Old Testament examples of a man who trusts in God completely. He’s a man who believes that there is a divine reason for everything and that God will use every situation for holy purposes. But those purposes are not easily discerned. That’s faith. Joseph has faith in God and higher purposes.

Of course, this is practical in our own lives. We all experience suffering and hardship and pain. We all get stressed out about our overdue work or our malfunctioning technology. And it’s right to do what we can to overcome our own hardships and to help those around us overcome theirs. But it’s important that we never feel to sorry for ourselves. We can’t afford to mistake our situation at the moment for the resting place of the rest of our lives. God has a lot in store for us and our lives are dynamic, constantly changing from day to day and year to year. Along the way the road will rise and fall. When it falls, it’s often hard to imagine another rise. But it’s important to have faith in the road. If we follow the call of God than we can rest easy knowing that life doesn’t stand still and that we are known, loved, and used by God.

Written by a PC Junior



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PC Juniors