I would venture to say most of us know the story of Jesus' birth. Christian or not, if you lived in a developed country the chances are in your favor that you've at least heard the story of the virgin Mary who gave birth to Jesus Christ of Nazareth.
Mary was a woman very strong in her faith; we know this because she responded to God's call out of humility. She was probably afraid and she certainly didn't fully understand the reality of the situation she was being put in (how often do we really understand the weight of the decisions we make?) but she went for it anyways. She was, without a doubt, someone to learn from. (Read about Mary in Luke chapters 1 and 2)
But today, I want to look at another part of the story. Maybe it's just me, but I never really thought about Joseph much. I always knew he was betrothed to Mary before she conceived Jesus. I also knew that Joseph could have easily annulled their betrothal on grounds that Mary was pregnant and therefor "not a virgin." (if you read in Luke chapter 1, you'd know Mary was, in fact a virgin. However, people aren't impregnated as virgins every day so this would have been an easy misunderstanding) But I never really thought it all the way through.
You see, Joseph is not a main focus for most people. "What did he do?" You might ask; but if it's me you're asking, I'd argue Joseph was just as much of an example to us as Mary is.
I spent some time looking through Jesus' genealogy as it is listed in the beginning of Matthew and I stumbled across the name Boaz. If you remember the story of Ruth, Boaz is the man who took Ruth as his wife. Boaz did everything in his power to take care of this woman he witnessed working hard for the sake of her mother-in-law. There's no doubt that there was some sacrifice in the things Boaz did for Ruth; including his marriage to her. But he was happy to do it because he saw a woman who worked hard and he valued her and the work ethic she displayed.
I don't know if it was intended this way, but that is very similar to what I see Joseph did for Mary. Joseph was not going to publically annul his betrothal to Mary because, as Matthew says, he was "a righteous man..not wanting to disgrace her." Joseph knew that pointing Mary out in front of others for her sins was not the best way to handle the situation. Sometimes, I am tempted to "get even" with someone by telling everybody else what they did wrong. But is that really the attitude I should adopt? I don't think so.
That aside, there's also the example Joseph sets to follow God. In the end, Joseph didn't even secretly annul their betrothal. Once an angel of the Lord came to Joseph and told him not to leave Mary, Joseph didn't even consider the thought. Instead, Joseph took Mary in to take care of her and her child (Matthew 1:24). And during Jesus' early childhood, Joseph paid close attention to the words of God. When King Herod heard of Jesus, he was out for blood. God literally called to Joseph in the middle of the night to leave and Joseph got up and left, he didn't wait for morning or wait to look for a job first (Matthew 1:14). Joseph knew the only security he needed was God.
Joseph was righteous, humble and he trusted God to lead his life. Although Joseph may not be credited with a whole lot when we tell the story of Jesus' birth, he was a man worthy of giving credit to. Even "small characters" make an impact, so don't be afraid to be the small character in some stories.
I love you sisters!
Kat
No comments:
Post a Comment