Preparing for Christmas

There are snapshots of time in my memory that I will always look back on as the moments I loved my husband the most.  Aside from when we exchanged our vows, the hours after the birth of our children were when I have felt a love so deep for my husband that I do not believe there will ever be words to describe it.

I will never forget it.

How about Mary and Joseph?  What could it have possibly been like for Joseph to receive the news that the woman he was to marry was pregnant?  After all, he was a simple man...a man who worked with his hands to earn a living.  How would a scandal affect his business? His livelihood? His reputation?

Thankfully we know that Joseph was a good man, and according to the gospels he tried to privately separate from Mary to avoid hurting her and any additional public shame.

Then came the dream.  Joseph was to wed Mary and name her son, Jesus.

Yup, and that's it. Because finding out that you are raising the Son of God makes all things better. Ummmm...no.  Can you imagine?

From the book Why the Nativity? by David Jeremiah


Day 5 - December 5th

"Why Joseph?"

He writes:

"[God] needed a man who was sturdy, stable, and practical, yet sensitive to the voice of God. He needed one who would stand quietly with a young virgin who might have seemed an object of ridicule, yet who carried in her womb the hope of the world. Joseph was strong but compassionate; he was able to lead the tiring expedition to Bethlehem and to the stable, to love and encourage the mother of Christ. Joseph, as the man of the house, was the teacher to give Jesus his first lessons in the law of God. And in Jerusalem, when the boy was twelve and it became evident that his first allegiance must be to another Father, Joseph was the man to humbly and silently step back and let God step forward."

Wow. For a man often known as the "forgotten man", his silence is quite powerful.  I may always remember the moments after the birth of our children and how much I loved my husband, but the love and respect Mary must have had for Joseph could only be known by God himself.

Personally, after reading the words written by Dr. Jeremiah about Joseph, I am so thankful to gain this loving perspective on the adoptive father of the One who claims us all as His own.

For further study suggested by David Jeremiah: Read Matthew 1:18-2:23 and list the things Joseph did  following each instruction.

Oh how I hope you will get a copy of Why the Nativity?.  There are such precious gems in these short readings that you'll be encouraged to talk about these discoveries with others.  Here is the link again. I will have it with every posting.







 
   It is such an easy read.









Blessings for your day,