Nougat 11

Have you ever been on a guilt trip? A question for us all as we consider today’s Holy Nougat

“Realizing that their father was dead, Joseph’s brothers said, “What if Joseph still bears a grudge against us and pays us back in full for all the wrong that we did to him?”” Genesis 50:15 NRSV

I’m not sure if you have been on a guilt trip yourself; but my experience was that rational thought sometimes flees us. Just think, despite the heartfelt, tear-stained reunion with their brother and his negotiating the best land in Egypt for their inhabiting; those 10 men had NOT let go of the past. It seems that they had never apologized, whether publicly or privately. Thus, when their father died they expected the other shoe to finally drop. In their minds, it was payback time!

Ironically, even at the point where they are confronted by their guilt (whether actuality of sin or complicity); the brothers still couldn’t see the good in Joseph; so consumed they were by their actions. Yet his brothers were still stuck in the past. Isn’t that how unconfessed sin tries to dominate our lives?

From the previous chapters, we realize that Joseph understood his experience as a blessing from God; in spite of the circumstances that took him there. We might even assume that the tears spoke to his relief – at the possibility of being reunited with his family; or vindication that his vision from God was true. His brothers, years later, had not moved past damage control.

How often do we try to justify our sins to God? How long do we remain stuck in the past sins we’ve committed mistrusting our big brother Jesus (not Joseph); despite his multiple overtures of extended grace? Shall we remain uncertain of our welcome in our Father’s House, where we have been given the best of lands to flourish? What else do we need to be told to believe that we have truly been forgiven?

Siblings in Faith; do we dare to stop adding words of condemnation to the Book of God’s Grace? Whose voice shall we heed?

May God’s blessings continue to abound in us and eliminate the guilt trip.

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May all we seek be found in Christ