Josephs brothers rejected him.  He must have had some pretty annoying little brother traits for his older brothers to actually sell him into slavery.  To be rejected by his own brothers must have cut Josephs heart deeply. Joseph could have chosen to dwell on his rejection causing it to grow and change his life into one of self-pity.  I imagine if he had chosen to indulge in self-pity he would have ended up as Potiphers dishwasher for the next 40 years.  Emotionally unable to move himself out of his misery. 

God offers to accept us no matter how dark our hearts.  It is our choice to accept or reject his offer of love and acceptance.  Joseph chose to believe that God accepted him even though his brothers found him so repulsive they actually wanted to kill him.  Because Joseph accepted Gods love into his life, he lived his life of slavery in service to God. 

The Bible doesn’t talk about it, but Josephs daily life as a slave must have provided many opportunities to choose to act out God’s love or to live in self-pity.   God needed to remove the rough edges of those annoying little brother characteristics in order to reveal the diamond he had in mind when he first imagined Joseph.  When Joseph chose God, God was  able to use love to remove the rejection put there by his brothers.  Love for God motivated him to actions that God was able to use for a whole nations good. 

Remember the old fable where the wind and the sun have a conversation about who can get the man to take his coat off?  The wind takes his turn first and blows with all its might on the man, but the man just hugs his coat tighter.  Finally, all out of breath the wind lets the sun take a turn.  The sun peeks out from behind the cloud and the man appreciates the warmth.  Finally the sun comes out in full array and glory shining its heat on the man.  The man can’t resist any longer and removes his coat.

Rejection usually makes us feel like pulling our coat tighter and not revealing ourselves to others.   Acceptance, not rejection, creates a change in people’s hearts and lives.  God uses love as a motivational tool. God’s love is like the sun.  He shines His love on us accepting us just as we are.  As His love warms our heart we can reveal ourselves and live the authentic lifestyle God designed us to live.

…..but I focus on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead.  Philippians 3:13 NLT

I filled the car with gas and pulled onto the freeway ready to hit the grocery stores and replenish the cupboards.  A few minutes later while listening to Christmas music on the radio the car made a definite miss as it accelerated up hill.  Immediately I turned down the radio to listen for any other unusual noises the car might make.  It didn’t take long before it made noises I have never heard a car make before!  I pulled over to the side of the road and called Brett.  After calling Brett I texted my son Colby about my misfortune.  He goaded me by asking if my car had finally broke down and given  up the ghost.  I assured him it had not!  I had decided to take Brett’s more fun to drive car to the store and it broke down.  In the meantime I was waiting for  Brett to arrive and rescue me in my reliable 15-year-old Rav4 with rusty wheels and fading paint, (which has never in 15  years and 215,000 miles broke down and left me stranded anywhere).

My knight in shining armor arrived and we traded cars.  We drove on the side of the freeway and pulled off to turn around at the next exit.  I laughed to myself at seeing  Brett drive at 35 mph on the freeway!  Brett drove the car to our favorite repair shop and explained the symptoms.  They assured us they would figure out the problem in no time at all.

Brett’s car seems to be more like an expensive hobby that we drive for fun, while my car is always just plodding along, never giving up.  It’s not pretty any more, too many years in the Las Vegas sun faded the paint.  It’s a 4-cylendar with all of about 120 horse power, but it has faithfully started up and taken me everywhere I have needed to go for the last fifteen years all on bare minimum maintenance.  Brett’s car on the other hand still has shiny paint and a turbo that makes it fun to drive.  But, it seems to break down every few months and despite its unreliability we pay for the repairs and just hope it will finally keep running without breaking down.  It sure has enough new parts in it by now that we keep thinking, “How many more can break down?”

I’m going to compare my car to God.  Most of the time He’s not real flashy.  He doesn’t catch our eye necessarily as someone we might want to hang out with.  Well, we see Him in the crowd, but it’s a lot like seeing an old pick up truck next to a shiny new Porsche in our favorite color sitting on the car lot.  We know the truck is probably more reliable and will get us where we need to go rain or shine, sleet or snow, but the shiny new Porsche grabs our attention with the promise of speed and open highway.

When we choose God as our best friend, He is as reliable as they come.  He is always there and gets us where we need to go.  If we choose to ignore God and drive in the fast lane under our own power, eventually we are broke down and busted up next to the side of the road.  Lucky for us, God is always willing to come to our rescue and get us back on the right path.

I’ve tossed a few ideas around with Brett about what to do at the end of the year, coming up in just a few short weeks, with this blog.  Keep writing daily?  Keep writing but not daily?  Quit all together.  Switch from a blog to a vlog?  That would be a huge challenge.  Blog, but vlog occasionally?

Last year when I first suggested writing a blog Brett and my oldest daughter Rande, who does write a healthy eating blog, suggested I write a blog about health!  I didn’t have to think about that, I just said, “No”.  When Brett suggested it again this year I said “No” even more quickly.  I do enjoy the results of healthy eating.  But, I live with Brett who does not.  If the person I live with daily is not convinced to eat healthy than why would I write a blog to try and convince the world to eat healthy?

I’m certainly glad God doesn’t feel that way about presenting salvation to people.  He already knows that so many are going to say, “No”.  Countless people have already said, “No”, but He still offers His salvation to everyone.  Jesus even rubbed shoulders daily with His disciples here on earth and they still didn’t seem to really  understand what it was all about until after His death.

Jesus has already died for us.  The only step left for us is to die to self and live for Him.

Rom 6:11-14 (Philips) In the same way, look upon yourselves as dead to the appeal and power of sin but alive to God through Christ Jesus our Lord. Do not, then, allow sin to establish any power over your mortal bodies in making you give way to its lusts. Nor hand over your bodily parts to be, as it were, weapons of evil for the devil’s purpose. But, like men rescued from certain death, put yourselves in God’s hands as weapons of good for his own purposes. For sin can never be your master; you are no longer living under the law, but under grace.