Joseph

The next character I am drawn to in the Christmas story is Joseph. This simple carpenter had one of the key roles in this story and yet he could have walked away from it all and been justified by those around him. Can you imagine being engaged to a woman who then tells you she is pregnant and the child is not yours? Can you imagine being asked to go ahead and marry this woman and raise the child as your own? Your first thoughts would most likely be along the lines of Joseph's: I need to break this engagement. To the human eye it appeared that Mary had broken his trust and their agreement and had to have been intimately involved with another man, but that was only the human reasoning. The truth was that Mary's pregnancy was supernatural and as such it would take a supernatural occurrence to bring Joseph to this conclusion. So, an angel appeared to him in a dream and verified Mary's story, telling Joseph that he was indeed to marry her and help her raise this holy child. Still, visit from a heavenly being aside, Joseph had a tough decision to make. The people in the town that were closest to him and Mary knew that she was already pregnant. In marrying her Joseph was agreeing to take on the shame that would follow her and her child for the rest of their lives. Even when Jesus was grown He was reminded by those wishing to silence Him that He was the bastard child of a poor carpenter. But, Joseph saw into the future, just as Mary did, and he saw what this Child meant not only to the world he knew but to all mankind - those who had lived, those who were living, and those who were yet to be. Joseph saw God's plan of redemption unfolding in front of him and he chose to be a part of it, no matter what the cost was to himself personally and no matter how hard it seemed it was to follow through on the instructions given. The result of Joseph's decision was the birth of our Saviour and His protection and training as He was growing up. Joseph went from being a commonplace carpenter in a commonplace city somewhere in the vast timeline of history to being a pivotal player in God bringing salvation to man. Joseph's task was not an easy one and what the Lord asked of him was no light thing, but he obeyed and because He did we have something to celebrate - not just Christmas but God's most perfect gift - Jesus.