At church these past couple Sundays, in light of the Christmas season, we are revisiting the story to the manger. After all, the real reason for this holiday season is our Lord and Savior's birth. It is amazing that a story that one could know really well, can still have so many teaching moments in it.
Let's take a look at Joseph, through the book of Matthew, and his life, and the affects on the Christmas story.
For starters, Joseph was pledged (aka "engaged") to marry Mary. When Mary was told that she was to have the son of God, it meant that she would be pregnant before the two were married. As stated in Chapter 1 verse 19, "Because Joseph her husband was faithful to the law, and yet did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly." In those days, being pregnant before marriage was looked down upon. Joseph didn't want people to know that Mary was pregnant because of the many assumptions is could lead to, for instance...1) it would have meant that they would have had premarital sex before marriage (a sin of course), thus damaging their reputation 2) Or Mary had an "affair" and became pregnant not with a child of Joseph's, thus damaging Mary's reputation forever, and embarressment to Joseph 3) hide the pregnancy, then divorce quietly and nobody would know, thus a "win-win" situation. Clearly you see the affects of what the world thinks rather than just trusting in the Lord.
Now we all know that the Angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream, and offered reassurance that all will work out for God and His glory. It was through that dream, and the faith that Joseph put in God, that allowed the "Christ"mas story to continue.
The role that Joseph plays in the birth of Christ is crucial. Even after the birth in Bethlehem, Joseph had to remain strong and true to God. Since Herod did not like the fact that the Son of the Most High God, and known to rule over all men, was born, he became angry and jealous, and wanted to find this "child". He planned to kill every child under the age of 2, in effort to eliminate his "threat". The angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph, warning him of this, and told to go to Egypt. Joseph could have panicked, could have tried to protect himself in another manner, but followed God's instruction to the "T".
This is the kind of faithfulness that we need to have in the Lord. We need to trust in the direction that God takes us even if that is not what we had planned for our own lives. Many times people get caught up in how they see their life going....graduate high school, go to this college-graduate, meet the man you want to marry, married at age 25, kids by age 28, start your career sometime in between then, etc. It is best to learn to not hold close to those plans, because God has something greater in store for you. Joseph could have left Mary, to be with a woman that would not have been pregnant before marriage. He could have thought being the earthly father to the Son of God would be too much of a task and pressure, but instead he remained faithful. He realized that we are not on the earth for our own needs and wants, but to serve and glorify our God according to His individual plan and purpose for each person.
How are you living your life? Would you be willing to drop everything you have come to know, and go in a completely different direction because God called you to go that way? Would you trust in the greatness of our God, and know that you will be taken care of, even if it meant you couldn't have some of the luxuries that others have?
Something to ponder, as we journey on our own way to glorify and worship our Heavenly Father.
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