You’ve heard
the Christmas story a hundred times. Everyone hears about baby Jesus, Mary, the
angels, the shepherds, and the wise men. But what about Joseph? He’s often
overlooked, but is a great role model for us:
1. Joseph loved grace more than
justice. Put yourself
in his shoes. He finds out his bride-to-be was pregnant and the only natural
explanation was she had cheated on him. I’m sure Mary explained that the
angel Gabriel informed her that she was pregnant by the Holy Spirit and she would
give birth to the Son of God (Luke 1:26-35). But that was a hard pill to
swallow.
If he had
exposed her publicly, the Law commanded that she be stoned to death (Dt.
22:23-24). Joseph was “a righteous man, and not wanting to disgrace her, desired to put her away secretly”
(Matt. 1:19). Joseph decided to send her away secretly because he loved
grace more than judgment.
2. Joseph trusted the Lord more than his
own logic. His plan
was interrupted when an angel appeared to him in a dream and explained that she
really was conceived on the Holy Spirit (Matt. 1:20-23). Joseph believed the divine
message even though it made no sense. A virgin conceiving had never happened
before. There will be times when you will also need to trust the Lord more
than your own logic (Prov. 3:5-6).
3. Joseph accepted his supporting role
in life. Some people
have leading roles in life while others have supporting roles. Both
roles are equally as important. Joseph accepted his role as her husband. By
taking her to be his wife, it appeared to others that he had gotten her
pregnant. How would it sound to say, “An angel told me that no human got
her pregnant.” No one would believe that story. Sometimes you have to do what is right even if only God knows the
truth!
Joseph
ignored the gossip being said about him and Mary because pleasing the Lord was
more important to him than his own reputation. www.kentcrockett.blogspot.com www.makinglifecount.net
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