A pregnant fiancé!

Imagine you wake up one day and find that your fiancé is pregnant and you had not been intimate with her.

If you are like most people you will assume that your fiancé cheated on you.

In fact, this essentially has to be the case — one does not simply become pregnant.

And yet Joseph chooses to believe the angel he saw in a dream, and Mary his fiancé, that she did not cheat, it is supernatural.

That must of been a pretty tough pill to swallow.

Moving to Egypt

Then after Jesus’ birth, he gets warned in another dream and picks up and goes to Egypt.

He likely had no family there, no history there, he just went, leaving behind his homeland for the sake of a child that his fiancé bore, who he is not the father of.

That’s dedication.

If I was Joseph I would be scared to go to sleep, because who knows what the Lord will be telling me next to do in a dream.

Simple Obedience

Yet we never read of Joseph complaining, or doubting the Lord.

He remains obedient even in what are truly some of the wildest circumstances one can imagine.

It is inspirational obedience. He does not question or doubt, even though he likely far from understood everything that was happening.

He simply obeyed.

And I think that is one the main reasons why God chose to have Joseph as the earthly father of Jesus.

He was not famous, or particularly educated. He was just a normal guy. Just living his life.

But he was obedient. He listed to God and acted.

For me this is very convicting. How often do I want to know the exact plan, the why behind everything God ever asks me to do. I feel I have a right to know.

And yet often God does not reveal it all, and for good reason.

He just asks that we trust Him, that we act in obedience.

And when we do, He orchestrates together amazing things — like the coming of a Saviour into the world.

A wrap up

This week we took a look at a few ‘forgotten characters’ of the Christmas story.

We learned how Zechariah and Elizabeth were blameless despite not receiving what they prayed for, how Simeon and Anna had faithful expectation for the coming Messiah, and how Joseph acted in humble obedience.

My prayer for you as we enter the Christmas season is that we would not forget what these amazing people have to teach us. God chose to include their stories in the Bible for a reason.

Let us learn from them as we follow Christ together.

Until next time

Be Blessed.

Aaron,

Theophilus Newsletter