Have you known the bliss of self-forgetfulness? Have you experienced the freedom that comes from not having everything be about you? The levity that comes from not taking yourself too seriously?

The Bible is not about you. The stories in it are NOT there to help you cope better with this world. This whole world does not exist for us. It’s not up to us to make it what we think it should be.

This thought hit me while reading about Joseph in Genesis. He had many brothers who disliked him because he was his father’s favorite. (Parents, don’t play favoritism!) One day, while his brothers were working in the field, Joseph was sent by his father to look after his brothers and bring back word to him that they are all right. But you know what happens. When the brothers saw him, they hated him and sold him as a slave to the Egyptians. They almost murdered their own brother because of their jealousy!

Usually, the lesson we would draw from this story is: Be nice to those who are mean to us. That’s what Joseph did. (Joseph became someone great later and made provisions for his brothers even though they were evil to him)

But you see what we did there. If that is the lesson, then the Bible is about us – its function is mainly to teach us lessons to be good and to behave. But the Bible is not about us. It is about God – more specifically about His Son, Jesus Christ.

Have you realized what happened to Joseph is eerily similar to what happened to Jesus? Jesus, God’s favorite (only) Son, was sent to His brothers, and yet His brothers bound Him and then killed Him.

The Bible is about Jesus Christ and what He did on our behalf. We are His evil brothers who meant harm to Him. He is the hero. We are the villains. But the hero, in this case, dies. But He dies for the villains! And by this, the villains are changed and they become His true brothers….

When this fills your heart, you forget about yourself. Your groans. Your sighs. Your misery…. Ever thought your life is not about you? That, it doesn’t exist for you? But it is there to reflect Jesus Christ just the way the Bible is?

Experience the bliss of self-forgetfulness. Fill your heart with Jesus Christ.

PH