Joseph, Man of Courage

Been to a Christmas pageant lately?  It's that time of year.  I have been to some where the costumes looked like they came out of Rogers and Hammerstiens wardrobe room and others out of Goodwill's backroom.  The angel appears, Mary hears, the shepherds visit and the Wise Men come.  There is still no room at the inn and Joseph...Yes, Joseph.  We know he is there, but what did he say?  Well we don't know.  He is silent when it comes to scripture, but he is loud when it comes to obedience.

The Bible says that he was a "righteous man."  I am not speaking of a pious religious legalist, but a man that wants to do the right thing.  Here was a man that was chosen to become the earthly father of the Son of God, but was about to have his world rocked by a social disaster.  Given what he knew about his situation and Mary's condition he wanted to protect her as much as possible.  His heart was broken, but he could not let her be exposed to public scrutiny and the consequences of the law, which meant stoning.

How do you think he felt?  Heart-broken?  Betrayed?

How do you think he should respond?  He could have ruined her reputation.  He could have disgraced her publicly.  He could have just put her away, left or divorced her.  God allowed Joseph to look at the situation from his perspective to show us what a righteous man does when faced with difficulty in the midst of life.  Joseph was torn between obeying the law and loving Mary. Emotions ran rampant in his mind and heart yet he loved Mary and did not want to see her hurt. 

Jesus' birth creates a predicament for every man.  All men are forced to make a decision about Christ and His claims.

The more I look at Joseph's situation and Mary's condition I am convinced that in our world the National Enquirer, Time and the local papers would have had a hey day.  The gossip lines and social networking would be hot.  But look at Joseph.  He would not get into that.  "But when he had considered this, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream..."  While the world gets on the phone or in a chat room, the "righteous man" gets with God and prays about it.

This was a redemptive moment for Joseph.  This was a moment of faith.  When we trust God we arrive at His promises and at His destination.  He did as the angel said and "took Mary as his wife, but kept her a virgin until she gave birth to a Son, and he called His name Jesus."

Faith is believing according to the promise of God's Word.  As He informs our faith, our hope is strengthened to trust Him in our circumstances.

I guess you could say that homeland security was on the front burner for Joseph and he learned to do it God's way.