“Now therefore, please let your servant remain instead of the boy as a servant to my lord, and let the boy go back with his brothers.” – Genesis 44:33
People really can change! Judah certainly did. Years earlier, it had been his idea to sell his brother, Joseph, into slavery. He’d led the charge to get rid of their father’s favorite and make a little coin in the process. Then, Judah changed. It wasn’t overnight. But it happened. Along the way, he learned a humiliating lesson in righteousness from his daughter-in-law. He learned to love his family more than himself. He changed to the point that, in this verse, he offered to trade his freedom in order to save his youngest brother’s freedom and their father’s heart.
Joseph had carefully arranged a test to see if his brothers were changed men and Judah passed the test spectacularly! He’d learned to value others over himself. He’d learned to take seriously his responsibilities. He’d begun functioning like the oldest brother, even though he wasn’t. He’d changed completely.
Remember this and be encouraged by it. Remember that in the Lord, people can change. Maybe you. Maybe someone who used to be part of your life. If you’re frustrated by a lack of change in your own life, remember that if Jesus is your Lord, you’ve changed to become new creation and you have the Holy Spirit’s power in you to become more and more like Jesus. Likewise, if there’s someone in your life that you’ve written off as hopeless, remember that in Christ, change is always possible. Pray for them for as many years as it takes. Should they begin to demonstrate that they really have changed, keep your eyes open to see the possibility. Not everyone will change. But everyone can. There’s always hope in Jesus Christ! #FollowJesus