At this time of year just a few days
before Christmas we begin to think about a lot of things, life seems to get a
bit busier. Almost too busy, in fact
each year it seems to be a bit busier than the year before. All of a sudden we find ourselves forgetting
what this time of year is all about, we say things like it is about family and
the kids. Yet it seems we have completely
forgotten that it has nothing to do with either of those. It is not about receiving Gifts or getting
together with family. Do not get me wrong, these are both good things. But it is about Christ, the coming of God’s
son from heaven to earth. If we begin to
take a real close look at the actual events of what happened we see two key
people who are involved in the birth of Christ, Joseph and Mary. They are almost forgotten about, we have them
in the manger scenes but we don’t really look at their story. It is really amazing when we stop and look at
these two people, the faith and obedience they both had in God. We can read each of their stories Josephs is
found in Matthew 1:18-25, and Mary’s in Luke 1:26-56.
Let us just take a moment and think
about Mary, we have a young teenager who is told that she is going to give to
the Christ Child. After asking how, and
being told that it would be the power of the Holy Spirit she accepts what God
has asked of her. Why do I point this out,
mainly because many of us may not understand what this meant for her. It meant that she would be pregnant before
being married to Joseph whom she was to marry.
Which meant he could have her stoned or break off the marriage and let
her be called a harlot. But instead she
never once asked about any of this, she knew that God would work all the details
out. She knew that God had chosen her to
carry His Son, and because of that she knew He would take care of her. I am sure she might have wondered how Joseph
would take the news, after all, telling Him what was going on would sound like
a made up story. But instead of worrying
about it she went to Elizabeth’s home, her relative, whom she just found out
was also pregnant. She put her faith in
God did not worry about what others thought of her.
We see the same in Joseph; we are told
that he was a righteous man, meaning that he was a man that followed God. He didn’t want to bring shame on Mary when He
found out that she was pregnant, instead he had decided to quietly divorce her. Then after being told what was going on
through a dream, he quickly obeyed and did as he was told. He married Mary and took care of her. It is amazing when we read this story, we see
a man who is very forgiving, he doesn’t want
to bring any type of shame to Mary, He doesn’t seem to be seeking out vengeance
for what is by all outside appearance seems to be Mary committing adultery on
him. We see both of these individuals and
we see two people that teach us how we should be living our lives with
God. We are told to have faith in God,
to forgive those who have wronged us and walk in obedience to God.
Both Joseph and Mary Glorified God in
how they lived their life, they placed their faith in Him and obeyed Him. We are also called to live for God to trust
Him and follow Him where He leads. For
Colossians 3:1-16 tells us this; “Since
you have been raised to new life with Christ, set your sights on the realities
of heaven, where Christ sits at God’s right hand in the place of honor and
power. Let heaven fill your thoughts. Do
not think only about things down here on earth. For you died when Christ died, and your real
life is hidden with Christ in God. And
when Christ, who is your real life, is revealed to the whole world, you will share
in all his glory.
So put to death the sinful, earthly things
lurking within you. Have nothing to do with sexual sin, impurity, lust, and
shameful desires. Don’t be greedy for the good things of this life, for that is
idolatry. God’s terrible anger will come
upon those who do such things. You used
to do them when your life was still part of this world. But now is the time to get rid of anger, rage,
malicious behavior, slander, and dirty language. Don’t lie to each other, for you have stripped
off your old evil nature and all its wicked deeds. In its place you have clothed yourselves with
a brand-new nature that is continually being renewed as you learn more and more
about Christ, who created this new nature within you. In this new life, it doesn’t matter if you are
a Jew or a Gentile,circumcised or uncircumcised, barbaric, uncivilized, slave, or free.
Christ is all that matters, and he lives in all of us.
Since God chose you to be the holy people whom
he loves, you must clothe yourselves with tenderhearted mercy, kindness,
humility, gentleness, and patience. You
must make allowance for each other’s faults and forgive the person who offends
you. Remember, the Lord forgave you, so you must forgive others. And the most important piece of clothing you must
wear is love. Love is what binds us all together in perfect harmony. And let the peace that comes from Christ rule
in your hearts. For as members of one body you are all called to live in peace.
And always be thankful.
Let the words of Christ, in all their
richness, live in your hearts and make you wise. Use his words to teach and
counsel each other. Sing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs to God with
thankful hearts. And whatever you do or
say, let it be as a representative of the Lord Jesus, all the while giving
thanks through him to God the Father.”
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