Could you imagine being Joseph?

Could you imagine…..

Just the other day a good friend of mine witnessed the miracle of watching his newborn baby coming into the world. He told me it refreshed his perspective all over again on life and the amazing complexity of the birth of a baby. I have a picture of the baby just hours old. So, as I began reading through the first few chapters of Matthew, I can’t help but imagine the earthly father of the Messiah. Here we have the introduction of the King of kings being brought into the world and a simple, young man chosen to protect Him and His mother at all costs. Four different times in the first couple of chapters, we are told that Joseph was instructed by the Lord through dreams as to what to do next. Imagine this young girl, giving birth to the King, the Messiah and wrapping Him in His little blanket, nursing him. Imagine her young husband, Joseph, waking up from yet another dream and saying, “Uh….Mary….we gotta go again!” How was this guy so tuned in to the voice of the Lord? How did he know to drop everything he was doing and obey the voice of the Lord? Did he ever question? Did he get frustrated when his life was disrupted by another instructional dream? Did he ever wonder how he got in this predicament? Did he realize somewhere deep inside that he was part of a divine plan of redemption for the world? I mean, talk about moving around a lot? In less than two years, they had moved from Bethlehem, to Egypt, to Israel and finally settled in Nazareth of Galilee. How could he establish a job to support his young family with all that moving and re-settling? I wonder if he ever actually felt settled. I imagine his thoughts at times might have been, “I am so tired and need to get some sleep, but Lord, have mercy! What might you reveal to me in my dreams tonight?” I realize the culture of that day was quite different from the culture I exist in, but reading and pondering over this account has just caused me to really think about how attached I am to stability and routine and convenience. Let one thing throw a wrench in my routine and comfort and stability and I get all worked up. I want to be more like Joseph in his openness to the voice of the Lord. His willingness to follow and obey regardless of how unsettling it was is such an inspiration. His determination to protect his young wife and child even though it meant leaving behind whatever he may have started in way of a job. Their best interest was at the forefront of his mind, instead of meeting his own needs. After every dream, the Scripture says: “…and he did as the angel of the Lord commanded him.” I love how he chose to protect his young wife and her child regardless of how it changed any plans he may have had. His willingness to lay aside his own agenda to have his own needs met in exchange for what was in her best interest exemplifies his humility and security.

In looking back over the key, repeated thoughts I noticed how Matthew described Joseph from the start: “…being a righteous man…” The Greek describes righteous as one approved and accepted by God; one whose way of thinking, feeling and acting is wholly conformed to the will of God. Lord, help me to remember who I am in You: righteous, accepted and already approved. I do not have to try to acquire acceptance from someone else when I already have Yours. Help me to remember that as I live out of Your acceptance of me, I can lay aside my own agendas and humbly treat others in a way that has their best interests at heart. I can trust You to meet my needs and lead me in the way You would have me to go. Thank You for giving us models of Your righteousness like Joseph. Amen.