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Meditation on Matthew 1:18-25

In this passage what jumped out at me as I read was the faith of Joseph, and the obedience of Joseph. It seems to me that most of the time we hear about the faith and the obedience of Mary, and surely she is the most amazing example of faith in the bible, but I don't think we should neglect to think about and honor Joseph for his faith. Joseph found that Mary was pregnant, even though they had not had relations. He came to the obvious conclusion but was trying to figure out some way of quietly ending things, without disgracing Mary. This passage doesn't say if Mary tried to explain to him what happened or not. I'm sure if she did he found it impossible to believe.

Then an angel of the Lord came to him in a dream. I wonder how often God speaks in dreams today? I know I have had a few dreams that seemed to give a vague sort of indication of what the solution to a problem might be, or a direction I should take was pointed out. But I have never had a dream like Joseph had, where an angel of the Lord appeared and gave me a command. I think I'm glad that hasn't happened, that would be truly frightening. Most often God speaks to us through His Word, that is where we find His direction and His commands to us; love the Lord with your whole heart, love your neighbor as yourself.

So Joseph sees the angel of the Lord in a dream, and the angel explains to him what has happened and who this child that Mary is so unexpectedly carrying will be. He will be the one who saves the people from their sins, He is to be the savior! He is Emmanuel, God with us! Can this be any easier to believe than that Mary has conceived by the Holy Spirit? I don't imagine it was that easy to grasp, I'm certain I would have been baffled and angry and upset by the whole scenario. What does Joseph do? He obeys. He takes Mary into his home and he raises Jesus as his own son.

What do I take away from this meditation this morning? What commitment do I make as a result of reading this passage? Christ came to save us from our sins, but this was not an easy thing for Joseph and might not be easy for us. There may be times when it is confusing or frightening to obey the Lord and follow Him. But I need to do what Joseph did and trust in God and obey Him. That is my commitment for today, trust and obey. Amen.

--
Larry Devich
I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content.
Philippians 4:11b

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