Redemption Comes Hard

by Ken Koeman

Like any doting grandparent, Pastor Ken Koeman has been watching his five post millennial grandkids emerge into their young adult years. They're global citizens. Social media is their platform. Their world is hi-tech. Their ever present smartphone means they are always tuned in, accessing instant news, shopping, communication, sports. Their future is incredibly promising. But this seasoned pastor, now fighting his own battle with cancer, also knows what else may very well come their way, and knows they need to be warned, and given hope, while he still has time. They are living in a broken world, where deep patterns of human selfishness, injustice, abuse, and disloyalty threaten every relationship they will need to flourish. A smart phone is no defense against betrayal.They will face strained partnerships, polarized work teams, chilled friendships, lies, backbiting, even abandonment. It will be shattering. And they will agonize over how such broken relationships can ever be redeemed. It will not be easy. They may think it impossible.Enter the much beloved biblical story of Joseph, popularized by Andrew Lloyd Webber's Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat. This ancient Genesis story is utterly realistic in its depiction of raw human evil as Joseph is sold off into slavery by his hate filled brothers. For over twenty years the family is alienated. Then God makes his move, and the impossible happens. Here is absolute assurance that redemption, though it comes hard, can come. Read it, savor the drama, and dare to hope again that nothing is beyond the power of God to heal and restore.

324 pages, Paperback

Published September 28, 2018

Reviews

[Jamison Koeman · Rating 5 out of 5]

5 stars. My grandpa was a man who was constantly striving to live in a way that brought redemption to every area of his life and the world around him. And he has incredible insight into how God worked in Joseph’s life and how the story of Joseph points directly toward Christ’s redeeming work. You can see in this story how the consequences of evil are widespread, making redemption all the more difficult, but God can use even the most evil of actions for good.

Whether redemption is needed for brokenness that is present in a family, within yourself, in a workplace, or in a society, the story of Joseph is a model of how God can bring redemption through people just like you and me. Reading my grandpa’s book was a pleasure because, while my grandpa passed away last August, I could picture him speaking to me once again.