When Joseph woke up, he did what
the angel of the Lord had commanded him
and took Mary home as his wife.
Matthew 1:24
Joseph may well be the most overlooked character in the entire Christmas story. Matthew 1 focuses on him, but have you noticed that Joseph doesn’t say one word? And yet, as is often the case, actions speak louder than words. Perhaps the originator of this wise saying had Joseph in mind when it was penned!
Joseph is righteous, yet compassionate. Willing to forgo his rights (and no doubt swallow his wounded pride), he was leaning towards a quiet divorce … and then he had his own angelic messenger who brought a divine command in a dream.
While Joseph may have wrestled with the decision before the dream, after he hears from the angel of the Lord, he is resolute. His obedience is immediate. He wastes no time, but steps immediately into the responsibility of being the earthly father of Jesus.
His example and his response truly challenge me to lean into obedience. How about you? Could God have a Christmas-sized, gospel assignment for us in the weeks ahead? What does immediate obedience look like in your life and mine?
I hope you will commit to writing the WORD with us this month. (You can access our free Characters of Christmas bookmark here: https://bit.ly/3snHFR8). And if you are willing, I’m confident that, like me, you will develop a new appreciation for Joseph and certainly an understanding of why he was chosen to be the earthly father of Jesus.
We invite you to view our teaching video on Joseph at the Cross My Heart YouTube channel:
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