“I just want to know where I fit. I feel like an extra piece in God’s puzzle box.”
I’ve heard this sentiment from middle school students, college freshmen, stay-at-home moms, middle-aged men, those with “a crown of wisdom,” and everyone in between. All of these people were looking for something. Anyone who asks this question wants to know where they fit in God’s story in the world.
We want to know that there is some meaningful picture being made with our lives…that there is some purpose to all this. We want to believe that there is a tapestry and a Weaver who is making all things fit together into a beautiful picture. We can accept that the side we see is ragged as long as we can know that the other side has purpose.
We also want to know that we have a part to play in that story. We want to know that our lives have meaning. We want to live out of a confidence in our part of God’s story. Knowing this gives us hope when part of our story isn’t quite what we hoped it would be. I have never met a person who wanted his or her life to be meaningless.
The message of the Bible is that there is a Weaver—the One who created and sustains the world. It also tells us that there is a Story. We might call it God’s Legacy.
God creates the world out of an overflow of His joy. He makes icons to live in the world both to know Him and to represent Him. He places them in a garden to enjoy what He has made and to rightly represent Him in all of it. However, the icons decide to live for their own goals and dreams. There is a just penalty for this. The icons are now cast out of the Garden. But, God makes a promise—that He would send a Redeemer to make everything right again.
God’s Legacy unfolds through men like Noah, Abraham and Isaac. In this Legacy, we see God’s tendency to use the most unlikely of people to continue His Story. God finds Abraham—a man raised in a pagan family, who doesn’t even know how to protect his wife—and makes him the father of Isaac, the child of promise. Then, God chooses one of Isaac’s sons, but not the one we would choose. No, God’s Legacy requires a weak, slippery guy like Jacob for God to display His power and presence. Jacob’s name is changed to Israel and he has 12 sons, one of whom is named Joseph.
In Joseph’s life we see God’s Legacy forming and we learn some really important things as we think about where we fit in God’s Story. We learn that no family is perfect. We learn that God can and will use everything in our lives for His glorious purposes—nothing is wasted. We learn that God can and will use anyone who belongs to Him to accomplish amazing things. We learn that forgiveness is always a better path than bitterness.
In Joseph’s life, we see a man who is part of God’s Legacy. We see a man who, by God’s presence and power, endures hardship, forgives heinous sin against him, and ultimately finishes well. Our hope for this series is that we would be strengthened by that same presence and power to play our parts in God’s Legacy for the world.
Our goal for Legacy: A Study of the Life of Joseph is that we would see God’s steady work of weaving a beautiful Legacy for our good and His glory. Even when we only see the ragged side, we can know that God’s steady hand is at work and that we have a part to play as we endure.
Join us for Legacy. There’s a place for you.
Preaching Schedule
- July 7—Legacy: From Pet to Pit (Genesis 37)
- July 14—Legacy: Potiphar and Presence (Genesis 39)
- July 21—Legacy: From Prison to Power (Genesis 40–41)
- July 28—Legacy: Brothers (Genesis 42–44)
- August 4—Legacy: Sacrifice and Solace (Genesis 44–45)
- August 11—Legacy: Reconciliation and Redemption (Genesis 46-47)
- August 18—Legacy: Blessing (Genesis 48–49)
- August 25—Legacy: Finishing Well (Genesis 50)
