Grace That Doesn't Run Out

Growing up, my immediate family consisted of my mom, dad, and my two younger brothers. Whenever my mom would send one of us to give the other kids some specific instructions, she would always tell us to start with, “Mommy said…” As I got older, I learned that the reason behind that was because instructions from a sibling on their own don’t really carry much weight. Younger siblings instructing older siblings on what or how to do something didn’t always go over well, and as an eldest daughter, there’s only so much influence you can use. But adding that it was a parent’s instructions and you were just the mouthpiece was basically law and ensured that whatever needed to get done, got done.

I thought about this when reading the story of Joseph and his brothers—the tearful reunion and forgiveness of misdeeds amongst the siblings had taken place many years prior. Now, the sibling’s father had passed away, and Joseph’s brothers were a little worried that the initial forgiveness given would quickly run out and result in a delayed punishment. The brother’s solution was a posthumous message from their father that was essentially a biblical version of, “Mommy said…”

So, they approached Joseph and said, “Your father gave orders before he died, telling us, ‘This is what you should say to Joseph. “Please, forgive your brothers’ sins and misdeeds, for they did terrible things to you. Now, please forgive the sins of the servants of your father’s God.” (Genesis 50:17).

I can’t fault them for this move. They were scared that without their father’s protection; Joseph would backtrack on his forgiveness. One thing I’ve noticed about people is that sometimes they project their behaviors and feelings onto other people—and I wonder if they were afraid of how Joseph would treat them because of how they knew they would behave if the roles were reversed. They feared a conditional forgiveness with a time limit.

Joseph’s response, however, wasn’t conditional:

But Joseph said to them, “Don’t be afraid. Am I God? You planned something bad for me, but God produced something good from it, in order to save the lives of many people, just as he’s doing today. Now, don’t be afraid. I will take care of you and your children.” So he put them at ease and spoke reassuringly to them. (Genesis 50:19-21)

My favorite part of these verses is, “but God.” There’s so much power in knowing that a story was going one way…”but God” brought something good out of a bad situation.

The same is true in our own lives as our stories take shape. The hopeless way we think a story ends shifts with a “but God” and is instead infused with love, grace, and forgiveness.

In our scripture, Joseph’s siblings thought the story was going to end one way…but God.

Sometimes in our lives we fear that forgiveness isn’t forever because of how conditional our lives are. And with good reason, some of us have endured moments where forgiveness was indeed conditional and it came back to bite us. Or there are times when we struggle to allow forgiveness that we’ve shown others to last. Then of course there are the times when forgiveness can take place, but it cannot lead to a reconciled relationship based on the hurt caused and damage.

There are so many factors to forgiveness and Joseph’s brothers probably thought through and dealt with many of them in this situation.

In this instance, Joseph is an excellent example of the typology of Christ. He shows his brothers, as well as us, what it looks like to avoid backtracking on forgiveness. And while we may struggle with putting it into practice, we can rest knowing that Christ does not revoke forgiveness.

We may wrestle with forgiveness in many ways, but God is always showering us with kindness that leads us to repentance—and a forgiveness that God does not take back. I pray that as our stories continue to unfold, we might live in that kindness and forgiveness, that love and grace, and in turn share it with others.