Forgiveness and Faith over Fears

Genesis 50:15-21 When Joseph's brothers saw that their father was dead, they said, “It may be that Joseph will hate us and pay us back for all the evil that we did to him.” So they sent a message to Joseph, saying, “Your father gave this command before he died: ‘Say to Joseph, “Please forgive the transgression of your brothers and their sin, because they did evil to you.”’ And now, please forgive the transgression of the servants of the God of your father.” Joseph wept when they spoke to him. His brothers also came and fell down before him and said, “Behold, we are your servants.” But Joseph said to them, “Do not fear, for am I in the place of God? As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people should be kept alive, as they are today. So do not fear; I will provide for you and your little ones.” Thus he comforted them and spoke kindly to them. As the book of Genesis comes to an end, there is one overriding conclusion: There is a hope for sinners. Having shown us the Fall and all sorts of failures in peoples' lives, the story of Joseph pulls together many pieces: God does keep His promise to build a great people from one man; people like Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and his sons can rise above their fears and have peace and hope; and forgiveness is a reality, both from God and from man. Despite many ups and downs, the story of Genesis has a good ending, and God's story of man will have one too, if we will live by faith in our sovereign Creator and Lord, and be willing to come to Him for forgiveness.