I've been thinking a lot about the idiom that circulates around the globe a lot, and I quote "Closer than a brother".
It got me thinking - in my family, we were different.
In Proverbs 18:24, it refers to "a friend who sticks closer than a brother." Now that makes me think - did I do something wrong because my siblings and I weren't close at all! In fact, I can't ever remember being close to them.
Unfortunately, my siblings and I were all so different - we didn't seem to have the catch cry "closer than a brother" at all.
Once I remember my eldest brother Ivan (who was 10 years older than me) turning up at the school on Parents Day, and he made a special trip to see me in action - it was good - I enjoyed seeing him there. But the others - my other brother and my sister - were totally estranged.
Hmmm, reading the Bible and in Genesis chapter 44 is the amazing story of Joseph being sold into slavery by his ten brothers.
They really hated young Joseph - he was the eldest of two sons born to Jacob's 2nd wife, Rachael.
Rachael had two sons, Joseph and Benjamin - she died having Benjamin, and Jacob loved and adored Rachael much more than Rachael's sister Leah, Jacob's first wife.
Leah had six sons and maybe just one daughter - Bilhah and Zilpah, two servant girls, also bore him four sons between them.
So they were quite the family.
Long story cut short, all his brothers, except Benjamin, I feel, hated Joseph so much because of his amazing dreams; they all ganged up on young Joseph and, unbeknownst to old dad Jacob, they sold him to slavery to a mob of Egyptians heading that way.
Can you imagine what the young fella was feeling seeing his older brothers gang up on him and selling him to these rough and intolerable slave traders?
The writer in Proverbs seems to assume that brothers and sisters are naturally close and that only one-of-a-kind types of friends could ever be closer.
Reading about how his brothers sold him into slavery (and how they must have reacted when Jacob, their father, was absolutely devastated by the loss of Joseph), they must have been really and truly concerned because of the amazing lies they told their dad.
It all came back to bite them, and God had plans for Joseph anyway - well worth reading if you get the chance (from Genesis chapter 39 onwards).
Anyway, where does that leave us with our own siblings?
It's not that uncommon for siblings to have limited communication even when living in the same place. Maybe vastly different interests and activities. Friends or family members sometimes really seem to annoy others in the same family. And so it goes on and on - lots of different things happening in the family which can be very annoying.
In our family, even though there were hardly ever disputes, we just didn't seem to relate to each other at all, which is fine and gives me a clear conscience that there was never a dispute (that I was aware of) that I did not ask for forgiveness.
Maybe as siblings grow and develop different interests, they can drift apart, and some prefer to spend time on their own.
The Bible teaches us that we should "love our neighbours as ourselves," and this extends to family members.
We are also told that as Christians, we are called to forgive in the same way that God has forgiven us.
Hmmm, now that can be quite hard to get over. It's pretty important to think about forgiveness.
Forgiving someone doesn't mean in any way that what they may have done to you doesn't make it right. You are basically never saying and will never say, "It's fine - go ahead and keep hurting me". Let's rather think that you personally choose to let the bitterness flow out of you. You don't ever have to 'fall all over them' in friendliness.
Forgiveness is really a choice you make. I know that I have hurt someone many times, and I have also been hurt by others.
Forgiveness is crucial to having a relationship with God.
On that mount, when Jesus was talking to the huge mob before him, he said, and I quote, "If you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you."
Forgiveness and Jesus certainly go hand in hand, considering what he went through in his three years of ministry and his cruel death on Calvary. Forgiveness, as Jesus taught us, is not only 'nice' but ESSENTIAL in asking God's forgiveness and also for forgiving others.
I'm always amazed at what Jesus said and prayed while he was so cruelly dying on that cross on Calvary. He prayed that God would forgive those who were killing him.
Good old Peter - Jesus' disciple once asked Jesus, "Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother when he sins against me? Up to seven times?" Jesus responded and floored Peter by saying, "We are to forgive others seventy times seven". That's actually four hundred and ninety times - that's amazing, isn't it?
I wonder if Peter was a bit taken aback to think that forgiveness is something that was never really encouraged at all in those days, especially in the law, where it was said that three times was enough. Hmm, that made me think - just how many times have we forgiven others, and how many times have we been forgiven? I am probably one of THE worst!
Peter and the rest of the disciples must have been stunned because what Jesus said was far beyond them - they would have been thinking in the limited terms of the law rather than the unlimited terms of God's amazing grace and forgiveness.
Jesus was driving home a pretty spectacular point that if we are forgiven an enormous amount of sin (like we all have been if we have given our lives over to Christ) against a holy God then how much more should we be really ready and so eager to forgive all those who we reckon have sinned against us?
Paul emphasises Jesus's example in Ephesians 4:32 when he tells us to forgive one another "even as God for Christ's sake has forgiven you".
Forgiveness to someone who has hurt you isn't something you do when you are on your own - sure, that's fine as well, but it shouldn't be given out in a limited sort of way but is to be overflowing and available just like God's amazing forgiveness for us.
So, how do we receive Forgiveness from God?
The word FORGIVE means to 'start again" or "wipe it all away". Really, we don't ever deserve to be forgiven - love, mercy, and grace are all in the word forgiveness. In 2nd Peter 3 verse 9, Peter declares and I quote "He (God) is patient with you, not wanting ANYONE to perish, but everyone to come to repentance".
You know:- Jesus came to earth to pay the price for our sins - amazing really when you think about it. In 2 Corinthians 5:21, it says, and I quote, "God made Him (Jesus) who had no sin to be sin for us so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God"- to me, that is oh so powerful.
Jesus's death was terrible, gruesome, and truly horrible, and during that time He paid for all of our sins, and all we have to do is come to Him and ask Him to change our lives and accept His amazing offer of forgiveness. HE ROSE AGAIN, which to me says it all.
Jesus paid our debts for us so that we could be forgiven - all we have to do is ask our Father God to forgive us and accept that Jesus died and rose again to pay for our forgiveness
Pray this prayer if you would love to accept Jesus as your Lord and saviour - and when the time comes for us to die, we will then know where we are going:-
Pray along with me now:-
Father God - I know that I have sinned against you and I really deserve to be punished, BUT I believe that Jesus came and died to take my punishment away from me and by my faith in Jesus, I could be forgiven. I now want to place my trust in you - thank you so much for your grace and amazing forgiveness. Amen.
God's richest blessings on you all this week, and may God guide you.
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