A Good Man

Matthew 1; Psalm 2 18 This is how Jesus the Messiah was born. His mother, Mary, was engaged to be married to Joseph. But before the marriage took place, while she was still a virgin, she became pregnant through the power of the Holy Spirit. 19 Joseph, her fiancé, was a good man and did not want to disgrace her publicly, so he decided to break the engagement quietly. (Matthew 1:18-19 NLT) Joseph was a good man in a very difficult situation. God was at work on a redemption plan that involved the most intimate and precious thing in Joseph’s life, but Joseph didn’t know that. When Mary got pregnant, Joseph was hurt and confused, but his gentle, noble character overcame his anger and disappointment, and he began looking for a way to keep Mary from disgrace and the child from shame. What a test of character and integrity! Thank God that Joseph passed the test! I can think of three reasons God chose Joseph to be the step-father of God’s own Son:
1) Joseph was a good man who would put the well-being of Mary and her child before his own feelings and reputation.
2) Joseph would be sensitive to God’s voice even under the most severe pressure and testing.
3) Joseph would act in obedient faith once he knew God’s will. Please join me and take a moment to consider these three questions:
• When I am “chagrined” do I think about others or only about myself?
• Do I think and act with nobility or nastiness?
• Am I an instrument of grace or disgrace? How do I respond when something that doesn’t look good for me might actually be God’s plan and purpose? Am I just concerned with how I look, how I feel, and who’s right or wrong? Am I sensitive to God’s voice even when he’s telling me something that’s hard to hear? How about you? Is this something you need to work on like I do? Prayer: Father, You really knew what you were doing when you chose Joseph to be the adoptive father of your son Jesus. Even though he didn’t understand what was going on, he acted nobly. Please help me to act nobly and be an instrument of grace and peace to others, even when I don’t understand what’s going on. Amen.