Happy Death

After being sold into slavery and loosing everything dear and then being sent to prision for something you didn't do and being there for years would you be able to say to the people who sold you, "do not be distressed and do not be angry with yourselves for selling me here, because it was to save lives..."?

Don't think I could.

But God's grace is sufficient for Joseph (Gen.37-45). God gave him a different perspective of his circmstances and he was able to day that and also, "But God sent me ahead of you to preserve for you a remnant on earth and to save your lves by a great deliverance." (Gen. 45:5-7) 

So I can't really idenify with Joseph, but I can idenify with his brothers that sold him... in a strange way.

Joseph let's us see the glory (character) of Christ. He was sold (just like Judas sold/betrayed Jesus for 30 peices of silver) and was proclaimed guilty when he was innocent. Jesus was sent by the Father and was Himself the very image of God, to save lives and bring about a great deliverance.

Just like the brothers, the guilty ones, you and I both stand before God blemished. If God were to ask, "Are you innocent or guilty?" We would have to say, "Guilty". And because God is perfect in everything He does and is, He is perfectly just and wont let guilt go unpunished. The consequence, the sentence for guilt is hell. Ugh.

But just like Joseph's brothers had to put thier trust in Joseph to deliver them, we too can and need to put our trust not in our own efforts of attaining innocence, but in being delievered and forgiven by Jesus. Through Joseph, provision for life was given to his brothers. Through Jesus, provision for life, deliverance is offered to us.

But just as Joseph's brothers had to receive the provision of Joseph. So do we. To stop trusting our own efforts to attain innocence and make a decision to start trusting Jesus' provision. Trust that He lived the perfect life you havent. And then he died to pay your sentence and rose Himself from the dead to prove that He is the only One who can conquer death.

The death of Christ is our HOPE! Happy Good Friday. Happy Death day... may it be the day we choose to die to ourselves and trust in the death of Jesus.