Radical Forgiveness

Have you ever seen a radical act of forgiveness and thought, “HOW?!”

I know I have. A grieving mother forgives the drunk driver who killed her child. The spouse holds no resentment towards their unfaithful significant other. The friendship is mended despite years of distance and neglect. Our finite human minds have a hard time comprehending moments of radical grace. How do they get past the anger? How do they possibly look with love at the one who has hurt them so much?

I love the story of Joseph’s reunion with his brothers in Genesis 45 because it is one of those jaw-dropping moments of forgiveness. If you haven’t heard of Joseph or his technicolor dream coat, I’ll catch you up with the SparkNotes version. Joseph was the favorite out of his father’s 12 sons, so, gripped with jealousy, his brothers secretly sold him into slavery. Talk about intense hurt and ultimate rejection! God’s hand was always at work though, and Joseph, through a unique series of events, went from being a slave to being made governor of Egypt. When famine struck the land Joseph and his brother’s stories collided again. They came to beg the governor for supplies, completely unaware it was Joseph.

Our sinful minds can’t help but see this moment as an opportunity for self-satisfying revenge. Joseph now has what his betrayers need to survive, and they are pleading with him for life. He can finally give them a taste of their own medicine and unleash years of pent-up anger. But Joseph, often seen as the Old Testament equivalent or prefiguration of Christ, does just the opposite:

4 Then Joseph said to his brothers, “Come close to me.” When they had done so, he said, “I am your brother Joseph, the one you sold into Egypt!

5 And now, do not be distressed and do not be angry with yourselves for selling me here, because it was to save lives that God sent me ahead of you […]

14 Then he threw his arms around his brother Benjamin and wept…

15 And he kissed all his brothers and wept over them.

- Genesis 45:4-5, 14-15

Joseph takes the very men who sold him to his certain death, weeps, embraces them, and then invites them to come and live in Egypt with him. Am I the only one thinking, “What?! HOW?! This wasn’t the story of revenge he deserved!”

How did Joseph do it? How do we do it? How do we choose forgiveness?

We learn our answer when we see the story that Joseph was foreshadowing. Joseph is the precursor to Christ, the Old Testament character that makes way for the greatest story of forgiveness and redemption. A savior comes to the world, serves those around him, is killed and betrayed by the very ones he came here to love, and then defeats death so they might have freedom from it. He is rejected, hurt, and abandoned. And then opens up his arms to the very ones who spit in His face. It is only when we understand that kind of love and forgiveness that we can begin to live a life of radical grace, doing for others as God does for us.

Notice the first thing Joseph points out to his brothers: “God sent me ahead of you.”

It is Joseph’s confidence in God’s plan and love for him that allows him to let go of anger and offer grace.

When we accept God’s grace and are confident in His love for us, we can then choose peace and love over revenge and bitterness.

Where is God calling you to radical forgiveness this week? Maybe you need it from Him, maybe you need to offer it to someone else, or maybe it’s time to finally look in the mirror and radically forgive yourself. I don’t know where this idea of radical forgiveness sits with you. I don’t know, dear reader, if you’ve been hurt, or if maybe you’ve hurt someone else. But I do know this: Jesus is ready for you. He will weep and embrace you. He has already forgiven you, and He just wants you to come home. And there, in His arms, we can begin to weep and embrace those who have hurt us. We can choose peace.

We can love because He first loved us.

Cristina Schmitter

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