Represent!

Judah impresses me here. He is a man of integrity. Before they left for Egypt, he told his father, "I'll take full responsibility for Benjamin's safety; it's my life on the line for his."

When the rubber hits the road, Judah steps up again, "I got my father to release the boy to show him to you by promising, 'If I don't bring him back, I'll stand condemned before you, Father, all my life.'"

It's one thing to say, like Reuben, "You can kill my sons if I don't bring yours back." It's a whole nother to put your own life on the line. I can respect Judah, even after that whole Tamar thing.

That's what I love about a life of faith lived out in a healthy church. Our God is a God of second chances. We are forgiven Sabbath day by Sabbath day. We can start over where things have gone wrong. We can walk into the future redeemed and whole.