| Picture the episode: the opening credits fade to the sound of studio applause. The patron saint of the dysfunctional family, Jeremy Kyle, introduces his first guests: 'Coming up next on my show, the mass-murdering brothers who trafficked their own flesh and blood halfway across the world ...' Now there's a family Graham and his aftercare team are going to struggle to turn around!
And yet, God not only turns round this family, He makes them one of the most famous family units in history. You may have heard of them - heck, you may have seen their real-life soap opera performed on stage - Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat. We can learn from Joseph: it's possible to rise above your beginnings; that your history needn't hold you back; that with God, the most dysfunctional DNA can be transformed into the holiest.
Joseph inherited bad blood: his father, Jacob, was a shark who did the dirty on his own brother. Joseph's brothers had blood on their hands: Genesis 34 tells a story of Simeon and Levi on a revenge rampage that would make Quentin Tarantino look like Walt Disney. Finally, driven by jealous bullying, his brothers earn a quick buck selling him into slavery. And yet, because the Lord was with Joseph he rises to historical greatness, despite his horrendous start in life.
Bottom line: if God is for you, it doesn't matter who or what's against you. |
