Joseph is, to me, the unsung hero of the Nativity story. If not for his absolute obedience, those events would have taken quite a different direction. It was Joseph, after all, who complied with the Lord's command to go through with the wedding to Mary despite what appeared to be indisputable evidence that she was not the chaste young woman he expected to take as his bride. However, he chose to believe the unbelievable and he took her in and cared for her and for the Child. I often wonder what the consequences of his decision meant for him... Was he ridiculed? Pitied? Whatever his lot, he took it willingly.
After the birth of Jesus, Joseph was again visited by a heavenly messenger and told to flee to Egypt. Undoubtedly, this was not an easy task with such a young child, yet he did not hesitate but woke his young family right away and left by night. Imagine, hurriedly packing and preparing for a journey in the dark of night with only an oil lamp to see by--if even that! Again, the command did not make much sense, but in this act of prompt obedience, he spared his family the horror of witnessing the presumably paranoid Herod's desperate act of infanticide.
The Bible records two other brief messages to Joseph: One telling him it was safe to go back to Israel, and the second was an unknown warning that caused him to settle in the region of Galilee in Nazareth. In all instances of contact with a heavenly messenger, Joseph was quietly and simply obedient. The ramifications of his amenable behavior were tremendous--in all cases providing for the life and welfare of the Lord Christ in his childhood--and yet it is rare that his name is mentioned except as the husband of Mary. Personally, I am amazed at the faith shown by what appears to be a very humble and submissive man. In the few passages in which he is mentioned, we see nothing more than calm and immediate compliance to the will of God. I cannot help but remember that even Abraham laughed when he was told the impossible: that he would have a son in his old age. But Joseph, when told that Mary was pregnant, not through the normal means, but by an act of the Holy Spirit, accepted this without documented complaint or dispute and took her and cared for her as his wife.
These ruminations on the life of Joseph began as I reflected on my own heart this past year. I find that I was not compliant to God's will for my life as Joseph was. Rather, I spent the year in discouragement and allowed myself to wander away from the will of my Lord. Rather than forsaking my preferences, as I am sure Joseph would have preferred an uncomplicated marriage or to stay in bed that night in Bethlehem, I found myself instead indulging them. As the year draws to a close, I find myself humbled and repentant. It is my prayer that the new year will see a different me. I pray that I will truly live my life in humility and service to others, living in a place of complete submissiveness to the will of God so that I may understand in each instance what is His will. I pray that I will no longer strive to "do good" without first checking with my Father to see if this is the good He would have me do. I would love for it to be said about me when I am gone from this earth: "We don't know much about her, but what we do know is that she lived in prompt obedience to the Lord."
Scripture quotations are from the ESV®
Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®),
copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News
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