How did you hear?
Everyone knows. Or so it seems. But the stories that are going around often have their root in half truths or even less. In fact when the story relies on faith there might be even less room to listen, understand or believe what you hear.
That might be the case for the story of Joseph. He was a carpenter and was engaged to be married to a great young lady, but things went a different direction. He had learned that his wife to be was pregnant. That was taboo, to say the least. He was willing to be kind but to stop the wedding.
God shows up Well, the news comes out. The news from an angel sent by God in a dream to Joseph. That is when we watch a common man become anything but common. And what he does after hearing from God is pretty incredible.
Let’s listen in or read the Bible passage.
Matthew 1:18-25 NLT
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, to whom she was engaged, was a righteous man and did not want to disgrace her publicly, so he decided to break the engagement[h] quietly. 20 As he considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream. “Joseph, son of David,” the angel said, “do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife. For the child within her was conceived by the Holy Spirit. 21 And she will have a son, and you are to name him Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.” 22 All of this occurred to fulfill the Lord’s message through his prophet: 23 “Look! The virgin will conceive a child! She will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel, which means ‘God is with us.’” 24 When Joseph woke up, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded and took Mary as his wife. 25 But he did not have sexual relations with her until her son was born. And Joseph named him Jesus.
We learn a lot about Joseph in these verses. But what sticks out the most to me is that God placed on a good man a calling to stand strong even when the world around him didn’t understand. Stay on the coarse set before him, and tell the story as often as you can.
He and his wife would be the parents of the most special son ever born. God’s son, Immanuel or Jesus. He would be the sent one from God and the one who points the world to their real purpose.
How did Joseph hear? God told him. An angel sent by God spoke up, and Joseph chose to live up to a new standard of faith that would be different from any one who had lived before.
Because this one man heard from God many others would hear from God. The same might be true of us. If we listen, we will be able to understand and tell others. How did we hear and who did we hear from? By the way, God is still speaking. And the story must still be told.
How did you hear? Joseph heard from God!
Have yourself a very Merry Christmas, and may the Lord Jesus Christ be the meaning to your life each and every day!
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