We see at long last that Joseph's brothers ask his forgiveness. They have long realized that they sinned against their brother. Yet they don't seem to ask his forgiveness until after their father's death, when they begin to worry about their safety. We don't know when it happened, but Joseph had forgiven them and he expressed his forgiveness to them.
Some counselors talk about two types of forgiveness, attitudinal forgiveness and transactional forgiveness. Attitudinal forgiveness is what happens when you decide that you can forgive the sin someone committed against you, whether or not that person has confessed and whether or not you will ever have the opportunity to express it. Think about the situation if someone thoughtlessly does something that has a negative impact on your life, even a brief one. Someone cuts you off in traffic or makes a rude gesture, someone unknown to you vandalizes your property, etc. Attitudinal forgiveness allows you not to carry a grudge around. It's an important step to make. Somewhere along the line, Joseph had developed an attitude of forgiving his brothers. Transactional forgiveness is what we see here in Genesis 50. The brothers apologize and Joseph expresses forgiveness.
We can find comfort in looking to our Lord and Savior. He had an attitude of forgiveness which impelled him to take on human form and come to us. He transacted that forgiveness when he died, receiving in his body the penalty for our sin. Our lives have been transformed by forgiveness. May they also be used to transform those around us as we receive and grant forgiveness.
"Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who have trespassed against us."
"Freely you have received, freely give."
Lord, may you make your people a people characterized by your loving forgiveness.
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