Text Luke 17:1-6
Then said he unto the disciples, It is impossible but that offences will come: but woe unto him, through whom they come!
It were better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and he cast into the sea, than that he should offend one of these little ones.
Take heed to yourselves: If thy brother trespass against thee, rebuke him; and if he repent, forgive him.
And if he trespass against thee seven times in a day, and seven times in a day turn again to thee, saying, I repent; thou shalt forgive him.
And the apostles said unto the Lord, Increase our faith.
And the Lord said, If ye had faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye might say unto this sycamine tree, Be thou plucked up by the root, and be thou planted in the sea; and it should obey you.
In Our pilgrimages here and in relating with others, there is hardly anyway we will live together, talk together, play together or even worship together and we will not at one time or the other offend ourselves. When this happens, no doubt it will hurt us, sometimes to the marrow of our bones, But the antidote during such period, if we want to remain faithful to God is to practice forgiveness. Jesus said, “Take heed to yourselves, if thy brother trespasses against thee, rebuke him; and if he repents forgive him; and if he trespasses against thee seven times in a day, and seven times in a day turn again to thee, saying, I repent, thou shalt forgive him (Luke 17: 3-4). 'Moreover if thy brother shall trespass against thee, go and tell him his fault between thee and him alone: if he shall hear thee, thou hast gained thy brother. But if he will not hear thee, then take with thee one or two more, that in the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be established.” Matthew 18: 15-16
Considering Christ's teaching, the Lord is aware that brethren will trespass against one another, not even once, but several times: The guilty party may not even accept his/ her fault. Yet we must do our best possible to win such person back and forgive. God exemplifies how to practise forgiveness when He said, “for I will be merciful... their sins and iniquities will I remember no more. (Hebrew 8: 12). In His teaching after the healing of the lame man, Peter explains forgiveness in the expression, “that your sins may be blotted out, When the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord” (Acts 3: 19). Forgiveness requires us to blot out the remembrance and take no thought of the wrong done again; and we will also experience a refreshed conscience towards every one. Brethren let us strive to be Godlike in our practice of forgiveness.
Genesis 45: 3-11
And Joseph said unto his brethren, I am Joseph; doth my father yet live? And his brethren could not answer him; for they were troubled at his presence.
And Joseph said unto his brethren, Come near to me, I pray you. And they came near. And he said, I am Joseph your brother, whom ye sold into Egypt.
Now therefore be not grieved, nor angry with yourselves, that ye sold me hither: for God did send me before you to preserve life.
For these two years hath the famine been in the land: and yet there are five years, in the which there shall neither be earing nor harvest.
And God sent me before you to preserve you a posterity in the earth, and to save your lives by a great deliverance.
So now it was not you that sent me hither, but God: and he hath made me a father to Pharaoh, and lord of all his house, and a ruler throughout all the land of Egypt.
Haste ye, and go up to my father, and say unto him, Thus saith thy son Joseph, God hath made me lord of all Egypt: come down unto me, tarry not:
And thou shalt dwell in the land of Goshen, and thou shalt be near unto me, thou, and thy children, and thy children's children, and thy flocks, and thy herds, and all that thou hast:
And there will I nourish thee; for yet there are five years of famine; lest thou, and thy household, and all that thou hast, come to poverty.
When reference is made to Esau, usually he is viewed from the standpoint of how he sold his birth right and how his brother took his blessing. However, have you ever thought about him on Genesis 33:4 on how he forgave his brother? “Esau ran to meet him (Jacob) and embraced him and fell on his neck and kissed him, and they wept.” Though bitter initially, Esau eventually forgave his brother (Jacob) and never again visited his intention to avenge himself.
The story of how Joseph was maltreated and sold by his brothers in Gen 37:17-36 was a bitter experience to Joseph. His brothers sold him and deceived their father that evil beast had devoured him. Who will ever think that a man so maltreated could, if given chance, ever think of forgiveness? But Joseph did. Instead of being bitter or blaming his brothers, he attributed their deed to act of God. “...be not grieved, nor angry with yourselves that ye sold me here...for God did send me before you to preserve life” (Gen. 45: 5, 7).
Joseph embraced his brothers wept upon them and talked with them. Can there be a better example for Christians today? Joseph's forgiving spirit is a great example to follow. Brethren, issue that split and divide the Church and families sometimes are trivial compared to Esau and Joseph's experiences. Let us borrow leaves from those who lived before us.