How Will You Be Remembered?
Joseph was a faith-filled person, a family person, and a fruitful person. His family would have remembered him that way.
Genesis 50:24-25 24 Then Joseph said to his brothers, “I am about to die. But God will surely come to your aid and take you up out of this land to the land he promised on oath to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.” 25 And Joseph made the sons of Israel swear an oath and said, “God will surely come to your aid, and then you must carry my bones up from this place.”
Joseph had believed God’s promise to the Israelite patriarchs down through the years. Joseph had the same promise, but he died in Egypt. However, he knew, he knew, he believed by faith, that one day, God’s people would be moved to that promised place, and when it happened, he wanted his bones to be there! Listen, Faith says, “God’s promises are even bigger than me and my little lifetime.”
God had done a work in and through Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and Joseph’s lifetimes that was securing a blessing for future generations. Listen, when God makes a promise to you, it isn’t always for you. Sometimes it will be for those who come after you, but in order for them to experience it later, you need to hold on to it now!
Joseph held on to the promises of God even to the very end. Psalm 100:5 is so precious because it add validity to our faith. “For the LORD is good and his love endures forever; his faithfulness continues through all generations.”
Will you be remembered as a faith-filled person?
The second thing that comes to my mind as I think about Joseph’s life, is that he was a family man.
Will you be remembered as a family person? Will you be viewed as someone who put their family first? Not first in front of God, but first after that. Could that be said of you? Allow me to explain why I think of Joseph in this way.
Genesis 50:15-21 15 When Joseph’s brothers saw that their father was dead, they said, “What if Joseph holds a grudge against us and pays us back for all the wrongs we did to him?” 16 So they sent word to Joseph, saying, “Your father left these instructions before he died: 17 ‘This is what you are to say to Joseph: I ask you to forgive your brothers the sins and the wrongs they committed in treating you so badly.’ Now please forgive the sins of the servants of the God of your father.” When their message came to him, Joseph wept. 18 His brothers then came and threw themselves down before him. “We are your slaves,” they said. 19 But Joseph said to them, “Don’t be afraid. Am I in the place of God? 20 You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives. 21 So then, don’t be afraid. I will provide for you and your children.” And he reassured them and spoke kindly to them.
Even after Joseph’s brothers had sold him into slavery and had told their father he had been killed by wild animals, even after that horrendous betrayal and all Joseph suffered for years after that before God elevated Joseph through a series of events to second in command in Egypt…(It was probably 22-24 years before Joseph reunited with his family)…even after all of that time and the hateful, murderous things they had done to him, he STILL had them in his heart. He still loved his family. He still wanted to help them and provide for them when they fell on hard times. Most people would probably have found some satisfaction in their family’s suffering as if somehow they were now getting what they deserved, but not Joseph. He was compassionate and kind, generous and forgiving, helpful and loving.
Every family has challenges. Every family has issues. There is no perfect family. Each family will only be as healthy and strong and impacting as each person’s commitment to it. Will you be remembered as someone who was “all in” for your family? As someone who prayed for and protected your family? As someone who spent time investing in relationship and support, in teaching and in developing your family?
Some of you have been hurt by your family of origin. I get it. Unless all members come together around responsibility for their actions, it is hard to think about wanting to be together, but I would say this: Never close the door on the possibility that God could reunite you with certain family members and pray for ways for it to happen. That might mean you need to pray for God to also make a way for you to forgive family members who have hurt you. Whatever you do, don’t become that person who vows you will never speak to so and so again. If Joseph can find a way to forgive and move on with his family, then I would say 9 times out of 10, so could we.
Finally, I would say of Joseph that he was a fruitful person. In fact, his very name means, “Fruitful Vine.” Most often, people who are considered fruitful are people who refuse to give up, people who are determined to make something out of their lives, regardless of what happens to them. That was the life Joseph lived.
There was nothing easy about his ascent to second in command in Egypt. It started with the awful betrayal by his brothers. He entered public service as a slave. He worked for an influential man who promoted him to the head of his house, but after false accusations were made against him, he landed in prison. Scripture tells us God was with him and he was promoted to the head of the jail. When it looked like things were looking up and he might even get to get out of jail, he was done wrong again, and it created more jail time for him.
He had every right to be bitter. He had every right to blame God and hate people. But instead, he made the choice to work hard, to “bloom where he was planted.” He kept a long-term perspective in spite of whatever his current circumstances were, and God, over the course of twenty-some years, made him fruitful. He was fruitful because he had faith in God, and he was fruitful because he had the right attitude regarding his circumstances.
Look at Genesis 41:51-52 that detail how he chose the names for his two sons: Joseph named his firstborn Manasseh and said, “It is because God has made me forget all my trouble and all my father’s household.” The second son he named Ephraim and said, “It is because God has made me fruitful in the land of my suffering.”
Will you be remembered as a fruitful person?
Joseph is remembered as a faith-filled person, as a family person, and as a fruitful person. Could there be a better legacy?
Live today the way you want to be remembered when this life is over.
