Monday Morning Devotion-December 1, 2014

*This was the first Christmas Devotion I wrote-10 Christmases ago.

Joseph at Christmas

Joseph fell asleep and an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream.  Joseph, son of David, the angel said, "do not be afraid to go ahead with your marriage to Mary.  For the child within her has been conceived by the Holy Spirit.  And she will have a son and you are to name him Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins."       Matthew 1:20-21

            There is nothing like Christmas.  This season of the year just seems to transform our attitudes and actions like no other time.  The Christmas spirit can truly warm even the most hardened of hearts. 

            Christmas is a time of celebration.  It is also a good time to measure how your life has changed over the years as you consider how you will celebrate this Christmas season

and compare it to Christmases past.  Since Christmas is such a memorable occasion it is

easier to readily recall, without some research, what you were doing on a previous Christmas than on a September 27th  in a particular year.

            Gift giving always seems to be at the center of things this time of year.  Usually what we do on Christmas Day revolves around giving and receiving gifts from others.  Of course that all evolves from the gift God gave us when His own Son was born and took on human dimensions. Our thoughts return to the real meaning of Christmas that occurred in that stable in Bethlehem with the birth of the Christ child.

            So, as we start our series of devotions about Christmas I thought it would be good to

first take a look at his earthly father, Joseph, and how that first Christmas dramatically affected his life.  Why did God choose Joseph?  Not a lot is written about him, but we do

know he was a carpenter which was good, hard honest work.

            Joseph was a popular name back in those days.  I can easily recall two others in the Bible who God used in a special way.  We remember that early Joseph who was given a coat of many colors by his Dad, was sold into slavery by his brothers, worked his way up to Governor of Egypt, and eventually saved his family.

            There is also Joseph of Arimathea.  We don't know a lot about him.  I've always thought he would be an interesting person to learn more about.  He stepped forward and courageously asked to be allowed to take the body of Jesus from the cross and give Him a proper burial.

            So, let's take a look at Joseph, father of Jesus.  Things seemed to be going well for Joseph.  He had met, courted and become engaged to this lovely young lady named Mary.  His carpentry business was successful.  He was a righteous man whose honesty and hard work was being rewarded by God.

            But, all of a sudden this problem comes up.  The girl he's engaged to be married to tells him she's pregnant and he knows he had nothing to do with the pregnancy.  Must have been quite a shock for him to hear that news.  What should he do?  There is one verse of scripture that probably tells us all we need to know about his character and why God chose him to be the earthly father of Jesus.

            Matthew 1:19 says: Joseph, her fiancé, being a just man, decided to break the engagement quietly, so as not to disgrace her publicly.  He had just received this news that probably was like a dagger to his heart and a strong blow to his ego, yet his concern was for Mary.  He didn't see how they could be married, but he didn't want to call this to the attention of others.  He wanted to just end it quietly because of the consequences under law.

            This perceived unfaithfulness on Mary's part carried a severe social stigma.  According to Jewish civil law, Joseph had a right to divorce her and the Jewish authorities could have had her stoned to death.  So, Joseph had a decision to make because he deeply loved Mary.  Of course, to stay engaged could also subject him to humiliation and ridicule.

            How often is the way we make decisions based on what it will cost us?  How will others view us?  What will they think?  What will they say? But, the angel of the Lord told Joseph, "fear not."  He chose to obey the angel.  His action reveals the four qualities Joseph possessed.  1. Righteousness 2. Discretion and sensitivity 3. Responsiveness to God. 4. Self-discipline.

            You can sum it all up by saying that Joseph tried to do the right thing in the right way.  I don't think those few little lines of scripture really do justice to the difficulty of Joseph's decision.  It would have been easy for him to get angry and take on a victim's mentality since he had always tried to do the right thing.

            But, he chose to think about it, use discretion, consider his feelings of love for Mary, and to trust God.  It took real self-discipline to do that.  To receive a major shock and not go off the deep end, overreact, do something foolish, took character.  In light of Joseph's actions we might stop and think about how we accept setbacks.  How do we deal with bad news, with frustrations, with disappointments?  Do we lash out?  Try to get even? Or do we do like Joseph did and trust God?

            There are several lessons we can learn from Joseph's life:

            * God honors integrity

            * Social position is of little importance when God chooses to use us

            * Being obedient to God's guidance in situations in our life leads to more guidance from   

               Him in other things

Feelings are not always accurate measures of the rightness or wrongness of an action.

Joseph's initial feeling was a normal one.  He should quietly end the engagement.  But, he heeded God's message and stayed with her.  In doing so, he was richly blessed.  Now, Joseph is memorialized in scripture where people have read about him and the choice he made through the ages.  He and Mary married and had lots of children.  They had four sons:  James, Joses, Judas, and Simon.  They had many daughters.

            So this Christmas when you read the Christmas story, it is natural to think about Mary and the appearance and announcement made to her by the angel Gabriel.  Obviously our thoughts will turn to the birth of the Savior.  But, stop and think about Joseph also.  Think about his role and how an honorable man stayed faithful, trusted God, and was blessed in ways he could never have dreamed of.

Monday Prayer:  Lord, thank you for the example of Joseph-a just and honest man who trusted You.  As we reflect on his life we pray that it will add depth and understanding to the Bethlehem experience and our hearts will be warmed with this enlightenment.  Amen

***author's note:  The Christmas season is here.  Time for shopping, food wrapping presents, Christmas trees, decorations…but most of all God's greatest gift to us…that baby in a manger.