Grace Triumphs Over Karma

Genesis 42:22

Reuben replied, “Didn't I tell you not to sin against the boy? But you wouldn't listen! Now we must give an accounting for his blood.”

I want to continue to look at the life of Joseph in the Bible and in this part, we again see the character of God on display. As you remember, Joseph was sold into slavery by his 10 older brothers. Through the crafting of God's plan, Joseph went from slave to governor of all Egypt and then engineered an agricultural relief program to store grain throughout the country so that there would be a surplus for use in time of drought. When the entire Middle East was hit with famine, his brothers come to Egypt to buy food, but they do not know that Joseph ruled it all.

He kept his identity hidden and concocted a scheme to coerce them into bringing their father to live under his care. He accused them of spying but as they huddled together, fearful of their fate as accused criminals, they revealed that their beliefs were very pagan. Like all other religions, they think there is an unknown force that they fear, like karma, that will cause bad to come on them.

The world believes that good intent and good deeds contribute to good karma, while bad intent and bad deeds contribute to bad karma. But Joseph reversed all that and, in a remarkable way, was like Jesus to them. He did not condemn them for what they had done to him, but forgave them, showing mercy because while he knew what they did was evil, God used it for good and he was just an instrument in the Lord's hand.

It is God's mercy that erases the debt of our sin, in spite of what we have done, and his grace that determines the outcomes in our lives. Singer Bono of the band U2 admitted, "I'd be in big trouble if karma was going to finally be my judge. I'm holding out for grace. I'm holding out that Jesus took my sins onto the cross, because I know who I am."

So will God just wipe away the guilt of everyone with the sweep of His hand? No, only those who come to Him with a humble and contrite heart will experience this overflow of kindness. Our faith in Jesus is our appeal to God for His mercy and we can celebrate that His grace will hold us up no matter what we have done.