I am one of those people some call a dreamer or a thinker. I like to think about what things may have been like hundreds or even a couple of thousand years ago. I wonder how people may have felt and how their day-to-day life would have been. I love history and enjoy going to historical places. My mind can run wild with thoughts of how it was to live in periods of time and in places where there were no modern conveniences. I think of the adversity people faced or how their prosperity or poverty fit into their community. I wonder often how it was in Christ’s time period on earth.
I wonder what it must have been like for Mary. A young Jewish virgin engaged to be married to a Jewish man. An angel appears and her life changes forever. In a few months, she would bring the Messiah into the world. I wonder what it must have felt like to be in labor and looking for a place to give birth and then end up in a shelter for animals. I wonder how it felt, or if she understood what was going on when people from the fields and royalty from the east came to see her baby. I wonder how it felt to know your baby was the Messiah of the world.
Luke 1:28-29 “And the angel came in unto her, and said, Hail, thou that art highly favored, the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou among women. And when she saw him, she was troubled at his saying, and cast in her mind what manner of salutation this should be.”
Luke 1:31-33 “And, behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name JESUS. He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest: and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David: And he shall reign over the house of Jacob forever; and of his kingdom, there shall be no end.”
I wonder what Joseph must have felt as Mary told Joseph what had happened. It is obvious that in the beginning, he did not believe her immaculate conception, or he would not have been so perplexed in Matthew 1:19. This passage tells us he determined he would not speak to the powers that be and expose her to public shame or even death. Joseph must have been terribly hurt as he thought about Mary being with someone else, yet he still loved her and did not want to bring her harm. I wonder about the mixed emotions he had as the angel explained to him that all that Mary had told him was true. She was carrying and would birth the Messiah. Wow! I wonder how Joseph felt when he had to flee Bethlehem to protect his family, the Messiah, from death by a jealous king. All of these things happening in such a short time kept Joseph totally dependent on God. He was a just man who had trusted God and he was determined to keep on trusting and getting his instructions from God.
Matthew 1:19-25 “And her husband Joseph, being a just man and unwilling to put her to shame, resolved to divorce her quietly. But as he considered these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not fear to take Mary as your wife, for that which is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.” All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet:
Mat 1:23 “Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel” (which means, God with us). When Joseph woke from sleep, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded him: he took his wife but knew her not until she had given birth to a son. And he called his name Jesus.”
As I sit and marvel at the faith and obedience of Joseph and Mary, I wonder how many today are this obedient to God’s call for their lives. How many have missed God’s perfect will for their lives because they wanted something different? A different job because it made more money. A different spouse because of physical beauty or status. A different means of education because of a desire to be popular or fulfill their ego. I wonder how much of God’s best for their lives people are missing because they do not seek God’s desire in every area of their lives. We have a sinful nature, and we live in a fallen world where we are influenced day in and day out to serve ourselves. This makes it easy for us to follow a path that we think is best, but in God’s eyes may not be. The only way we can know if we are on target with our lives is to stay close to God. We need to study and pray for answers. We need to seek to be led by the Holy Spirit and then obey.
I wonder what the world would be like if everyone who called on the name of Jesus were as obedient as Mary and Joseph.
