Some of the most difficult, painful moments in life are the ones where we’re betrayed by the people closest to us. We instinctively view betrayers with contempt, and we naturally empathize with the betrayed far more than the ones doing the betraying. Jesus Himself experienced this pain with both Peter and Judas. We comfort ourselves by casting betrayers as villains, shaking our heads at their choices. But if we’re going to understand grace, we need to do something uncomfortable: we must admit that we can empathize with the betrayers too. That honesty opens our eyes to how desperately we need redemption—and how miraculous it is when grace takes hold despite our depravity. Keep that in mind today as we walk through the moment Joseph’s brothers threw him into a pit. Their story isn’t just ancient history; it’s a mirror that reveals far more about us than we’d like to admit.
