15 When Yosef's brothers saw that their father was dead, they said, "It may be that Yosef will hate us, and will fully pay us back for all of the evil which we did to him. 16 They sent a message to Yosef, saying, "Your father commanded before he died, saying, 17 "So you shall tell Yosef, 'Now please forgive the disobedience of your brothers, and their sin, because they did evil to you.' Now, please forgive the disobedience of the servants of the God of your father." Yosef wept when they spoke to him.
18 His brothers also went and fell down before his face; and they said, "Behold, we are your servants."
19 Yosef said to them, "Don't be afraid, for am I in the place of God? 20 As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to bring to pass, as it is this day, to save many people alive. 21 Now therefore don't be afraid. I will nourish you and your little ones." He comforted them, and spoke kindly to them. [Genesis 50:15-21 HNV]
In her book Throw Out Fifty Things, Gail Blanke outlines four "Rules of Disengagement" to help people clear the clutter from their lives. The first rule states: "If it . . . weighs you down, clogs you up, or just plain makes you feel bad about yourself, throw it out, give it away, sell it, let it go, move on."
I think this Rule of Disengagement has a spiritual application too: We don't have to stay connected to past sin. Joseph's brothers struggled with this. Years after they sold Joseph into slavery, they recalled their cruelty and feared revenge (Gen. 50:15). So they sent a message to Joseph, begging for forgiveness (vv.16-17). They did this despite previous merciful actions and reassurances from their brother (45:4-15).
Many of us remain connected to age-old offenses despite mercy and forgiveness from those we may have hurt. However, true freedom comes when we confess our wrongdoing to God. He forgives it (1 John 1:9) and separates us from it (Ps. 103:12). As one verse puts it, He throws our sin into the depths of the sea! (Micah 7:19). Because of this, we can remind ourselves that the Son has made us free, and we are free indeed (John 8:36).
