For some reason, Mary seems to be the focus of attention when it comes to the birth of Jesus. One of the reasons might be that she was His mother. Another might be the miracle of the Virgin birth. But there was someone else there, someone else involved. That was Joseph.
It might do for most of us to identify more with Joseph than any other character involved in the Christmas story. He has a kind of a bit part, but he is vital. His character and his willingness to listen to God made him essential and allowing Mary to have the baby Jesus.
Matthew 1:20 (KJV) But while he thought on these things, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared unto him in a dream, saying, Joseph, thou son of David, fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife: for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Ghost.Of course God chose him just as He chose Mary. I wonder if in reality He didn’t prepare him for this. When you go through the genealogies, you find that both Joseph and Mary trace their ancestry back to David. There had to be some preparation in order to have these two come together at the right time. God had to be sure that both Mary and Joseph would have the right character to be faithful to their calling.
I personally think it would be more fun to be one of the angels broadcasting the news from the skies. I might like the prestige of being one of the wise men. I don’t think I’d want to be a shepherd. What God needs is more Joseph’s. He needs more of us willingto serve faithfully, to step up when needed, and rest in the shadows when someone else is the main character.
May you find your place of service this year.
Merry Christmas.
homo unius libri
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Comments are welcome. Feel free to agree or disagree but keep it clean, courteous and short. I heard some shorthand on a podcast: TLDR, Too long, didn't read.