Who Are We - by Susan Jensen

On September 21, Pastor Rod continued his message series “7 Critical Life Questions” with the message –  “Do You Know Who You Are?” Only two messages into the multiple week series, as usual, I am finding the series a very relatable.  In this series, Rod is delving into the life of Joseph as it begins to play out in late the book of Genesis. Midway through this past week’s topic, Pastor Rod points out 2 reasons why Joseph didn’t give in when tempted into an affair by Potiphar’s wife.

Reason #1:  Joseph’s boss, Potiphar trusted him with everything he owns
Reason #2:  Joseph refused to do this “wicked sin” against God.

Now here is a personality confession, I have a terrible habit of rushing through a thought without always pondering beyond the surface why something is important. So when the 2 reasons were pointed out, my initial reaction was, well of course #2 is important… why bother with #1. #2 supersedes it. Enough said.

Then something made me go back and think about why #1 would matter. The obvious reason is that Joseph would lose his credibility with Potiphar as well as making a grave enemy of him. Again, this seems to be a distant second to the consequences of sinning against God. Granted, we all sin and fall short of the glory of God, but in my mind #2 is a heavier deterrent than #1. And then it hit me, as Rod asked earlier in his message. If we are to be any kind of Christian role model, #1 is hugely important. Now remember, throughout this story we are constantly reminded that God was with Joseph and all he did was blessed. If Joseph is a Christian role model to all around him just think of the damage Joseph could do by giving into temptation.  Remember the quote referred to a few weeks back from D L Moody: “Out of 100 people, one will read the Bible, the other 99 will read the Christian.” It would be easy for those around Joseph to say if a Christian can act like that, then what’s the difference, why bother being one?

If I had to put the reasons in order of why Joseph most likely chose to withstand temptation I would lean toward starting with #2, because Joseph valued his relationship with God and wanted to honor God. But #1 is definitely a huge benefit to #2.

So who are we? Do we belong to God? And if we belong to God, where does our loyalty lie? How deep does it run? Will we be easily swayed by temptations time and time again, or will we remember we belong to a loving God whose love is so strong for us that He gave His only Son to redeem us?

If you missed this past week’s message you can listen to it at www.dewittredeemer.org by clicking on the podcast.