Lenten Devotion
March 25th
On Sunday, we heard the text from Genesis about Joseph. In the first part of this story in chapter 37, we heard about Joseph and how he was treated by his brothers after he received the beautiful colorful coat from his father. Although his brothers decided not to kill him like they originally talked about, they did send him to a foreign country where he didn’t know anyone.
How do you feel when things in your family don’t seem fair to you?
Share a time when you were in a situation where you didn’t know someone else. How did this make you feel?
We now skip ahead in the story to Genesis 50 where Joseph’s brothers are afraid that Joseph is still mad at them. This part of the story is years later, after the famine of the land is over and Joseph has already helped his brothers. Their dad has died and they don’t want Joseph to be mad at them. The brothers asked for forgiveness and Joseph tells them he loves them and will help them. Wow - what a great man Joseph was to forgive his brothers for sending him to live in a foreign country when he was younger. When Joseph went to the foreign country, God went with him. Joseph learned to live in a new place with new rules. We too are learning to live with new rules. We don’t go to work or school. We stay home and are careful when we interact with others. We don’t want others to get sick because we made a poor choice.
When have you been really mad at someone and then forgiven them?
How did you feel after you forgave them?
When you have been treated by someone in a not nice way and then forgiven them, how did it feel?
This story is in the Spark Story Bible on page 48. The complete reading is online at here.
Where did you see God in your life this last week?
What are ways you can help others who are experiencing something new?
Prayer
Dear God, Thank you for our families. Be with us when we get along and even more so when we don’t get along. Remind us to forgive others when they make a mistake or say something that isn’t nice. Help us to be mindful of the journey we are on now where the rules are different and help us remember the new rules. Give us kind words for our families during this time. In your name we pray, Amen.
Optional Activity
Get a piece of white paper and draw a coat on it. Using tissue paper, glues pieces all over the coat to make a colorful coat. If you don’t have colorful tissue paper, you can use construction paper or color it with markers, crayons, or colored pencils. Keep this drawing where you can see it and remember to be kind to others.