Alive

Genesis 45-47

In 2005, we got the call that no parent ever wants to get: our son had been in a bad car accident. The only details shared were that his car had been totaled and that he had been taken by ambulance to the hospital. I remember struggling to keep it together as waves of fear washed over me. The drive to the emergency room is a blur, but I remember clearly walking up to the desk in panic and asking about him. We were guided to one of the examination rooms, where we found him lying on the table with a cervical collar around his neck. He was banged up, but the X-rays showed no spinal damage and he was released later that night. As harrowing as the drive to the E.R. had been, the drive home felt like our son had been raised from the dead.

In Genesis 37, we are introduced to Joseph, Jacob's favorite son. However, Joseph was not the favorite of his brothers; in fact, their anger with him reached the point that they ambushed him, beat him up, and sold him into slavery in Egypt. They then dipped his coat in goat’s blood and took it back to Jacob and told him that his beloved son was dead. The Bible records Jacob’s reaction to the news, “Then Jacob tore his clothes and dressed himself in burlap. He mourned deeply for his son for a long time. His family all tried to comfort him, but he refused to be comforted. “I will go to my grave mourning for my son,” he would say, and then he would weep (NLT).

Fast forward twenty-two years, and Joseph is now second in command of Egypt, and he is finally reunited with his father. Genesis 46:29-30 gives us the details of this reunion: “Joseph prepared his chariot and traveled to Goshen to meet his father, Jacob. When Joseph arrived, he embraced his father and wept, holding him for a long time. Finally, Jacob said to Joseph, “Now I am ready to die, since I have seen your face again and know you are still alive.” (NLT). I can’t even imagine the wave of emotions that Jacob must have felt!

When I read this account of Joseph, I think of Jesus. Joseph was betrayed and forsaken by his brothers, presumed dead by his father and, from his family's point of view, he returned from the dead offering forgiveness, saving them from famine, and blessing them with a new home where they would all be together!

As great as Joseph’s story is, Jesus’ is even greater! Jesus literally returned from the dead, offered us forgiveness for all our sins, saved us from death, and promised us that we would be with him in paradise forever! Let us praise God and give thanks for all the ways we are alive in Jesus!

Following in Christ’s footsteps,

Mike