It seems like when I (Allison) sit down to write one these little reflections (and sermons), I can't manage to get past first page of each chapter before I find a phrase that captures my imagination. Last week, I was caught up in the story of Abraham and Sarah and the idea of God blessing them (and us) in order that they (and we) may be a blessing to others. [In fact, if you want to see just how stuck on that I got, check this out.]
THIS week, I didn't make it past this sentence (in "The Story," page 43):
"Then a new king, to whom Joseph meant nothing, came to power in Egypt."There's something very powerful about this sentence--something about a loss of perspective that makes my heart ache a little bit.
Somehow, history was lost. Memory was lost. Identity was lost.
In the middle of the muddle of everyday things, over the course of years and years, God's people drifted and drifted and drifted. And suddenly they found themselves being ruled by someone "to whom Joseph meant nothing."
The power of Joseph's story meant nothing now. The idea of "You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives" meant nothing ("The Story," page 42, Genesis 50:15-20).
Perhaps what makes my heart ache the most is that this happens so easily. Time and again we read about the Israelites forgetting about God and all He had done for them. They get so wrapped up in their individual lower stories that they forget all about God's upper story: how God is faithful and loving and chasing after them to bring them closer to His side.
They forget.
And we forget too.
We get wrapped around the axle of our lower stories and lose sight of God's upper story just as easily. (It's that whole darn sin thing again.) We forget who we are (beloved children of God) and to whom we belong (the Creator and Sustainer of the universe) and how we are to live (loving God and loving neighbor).
You know what we need to remember? Not to forget. Not to forget who we are and whose we are and how to live.
I can't say it any better than Deuteronomy 6 says it:
4 Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. 5 Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength.
6 These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts.
7 Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up.
8 Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. 9 Write them on the door frames of your houses and on your gates.Don't forget. Teach your children and grandchildren and the children at your church and in your neighborhood to love the Lord with all their heart and soul and strength. Talk about it at home; talk about it in public; think about it before you go to sleep and when you wake up.
Model it for others.
Whatever you do, don't forget. Please don't forget.
Don't forget the power of Joseph's story--don't forget the power of God using the bad guys for good purposes. Don't forget the amazing story of God delivering his people from the hands of a king "to whom Joseph meant nothing."
Our prayer for you is that these 31 weeks with God and His "Story" will be a time of permanently imprinting His love for you on your heart. Of sealing these words of love inescapably on your soul. Like a tattoo, on the inside.
Enduring words, for all times.
Remember who you are, Whose you are, and how to live.
TAKING IT A STEP FURTHER
So, what's one thing you can do today to make sure you don't forget and become someone "to whom Joseph meant nothing??"
