December 17, 2013 - "Insights From The Life of Joseph"

We have now seen how obedience to God can be played out and affect various ones in various manners - Mary, Elizabeth, Zechariah, and the shepherds. As I have said many times in recent days, God is at work and our best response is obedience. It proves our love and devotion to our Creator. And as we study the scripture, we can certainly see how God responds to our obedience. Today, let's continue to examine the Christmas character's stories. Let's take a look at Joseph. Scripture doesn't say much about Joseph - but how many of you know he had to be special to be allowed to be the earthly father of Jesus? I would imagine that just as Mary was hand-selected, so was Joseph. The following passage from Matthew 1:18-24 allows us to see the probable reasons Joseph was selected for this awe-filled task. Joseph Accepts Jesus as His Son (NIV) 18 This is how the birth of Jesus the Messiah came about: His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be pregnant through the Holy Spirit. 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. 20 But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. 21 She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.” 22 All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: 23 “The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel” (which means “God with us”). 24 When Joseph woke up, he did what the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took Mary home as his wife. 25 But he did not consummate their marriage until she gave birth to a son. And he gave him the name Jesus. I can't imagine living in a society where pregnancy outside of marriage was considered an offense punishable by stoning. But this is the context of our story. Joseph is a man who has fallen in love with the woman of his dreams and has asked that she be his wife. I'm certain every time he looked at Mary he smiled. She must have made him feel complete as he prepared to share every aspect of his life with her. I cannot imagine how he felt as Mary conveyed the news that she was pregnant, and he was not the father. Did she love another man? Did everyone in the village know but him? We never read his reaction, but the Bible does hint that the goodness of this man's heart overstepped his "right" as a husband. His mortal plan - private divorce. But God's plan did not include this. The torment of Joseph's heart is comforted in a dream as the angel makes known the plan of God through a supernatural birth that would confound many - but not this God-fearing man Joseph. As soon as the morning light caused the dream to end, reality began and Joseph immediately moved into the plan of God and his new role as a father. Joseph, the protective man, the obedient follower, the servant of God who walks in faith and no longer fears makes haste to prepare for this miracle birth to occur in the city declared by the prophets of old. I want to remind you today that often the things of God can be scary and beyond our human understanding. But God ALWAYS desires that we see beyond fear. I remember a song from my childhood, "trust and obey." Did you ever sing that? Any way, God always knows when His BIG plans are scary to we, His children. And just as He comforted Joseph, Mary, the shepherds, Elizabeth......"FEAR NOT," His Fatherly response has not changed. Is there an area in your life today that seems beyond the realm of possibility? Ask God to show you His plan. He has one. Can you even conceive that God's best plan includes you, as it did Joesph, and that God has some special assignment for you. I would love to be someone's Christmas miracle. How about you? PK