A profound human example …

Joseph’s example of faith and obedience has been on my mind today. Let me share with you a few more thoughts beyond the last post …

Mary’s attempt to explain her pregnancy to Joseph had to be one of the most unbelievable statements ever made by a human being.

Do you know anyone before Christ, or after, born of a virgin birth?

Nope.

It appears Joseph didn’t believe Mary either …

“… Mary, was engaged to be married to Joseph. But before the marriage took place, while she was still a virgin, she became pregnant through the power of the Holy Spirit. 19 Joseph, her fiancé, was a good man and did not want to disgrace her publicly, so he decided to break the engagement quietly,” Matthew 1:18b-19.

But when the same message came from God, Joseph believed and obeyed …

“When Joseph woke up, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded and took Mary as his wife,” Matthew 1:24.

After Jesus was born, Joseph obeyed God’s direction to flee to Egypt (Mt. 2:13-15) for safety — the same country that had enslaved his people for hundreds of years. You would have to really trust God to run off to a place like that … for your safety!

Upon his return home, Joseph obeyed God’s redirection to forget about Bethlehem and, instead, relocate his little family to the rough neighborhood of Nazareth (Mt. 2:19-23).

These directions of the Lord in Joseph’s life were not “little” things. Believing and obeying God about these matters directly decided who Joseph married, the safety and well-being of himself and his family, and the environment he exposed his wife and child to when finally settling down.

God asked some BIG things of Joseph!

Yet, we don’t hear about Joseph complaining, or fretting, or procrastinating. Instead, we see when God spoke, Joseph believed and then obeyed.

No wonder God picked this man to be the stepfather to the Savior of the world!

Scotty