18Now the birth of Jesus Christ was as follows: when His mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together she was found to be with child by the Holy Spirit.
19And Joseph her husband, being a righteous man and not wanting to disgrace her, planned to send her away secretly.
20But when he had considered this, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, "Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife; for the Child who has been conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit.
21"She will bear a Son; and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins."
22Now all this took place to fulfill what was spoken by the Lord through the prophet:
23"BEHOLD, THE VIRGIN SHALL BE WITH CHILD AND SHALL BEAR A SON, AND THEY SHALL CALL HIS NAME IMMANUEL," which translated means, "GOD WITH US."
24And Joseph awoke from his sleep and did as the angel of the Lord commanded him, and took Mary as his wife,
25but kept her a virgin until she gave birth to a Son; and he called His name Jesus.
This morning I "woke up on the wrong side of the bed" and consequently, was very rude to my husband before he left for work. I put that phrase, "woke up on the wrong side of the bed," in quotations, as kind of a joke. It's normally used as a polite way to say someone's is grumpy. But, the truth is - I was down right sinful.
Then, after such a great start to my morning! ;-) I sit down to read my Bible before getting in the shower, and I read the passage that I've quoted up top.
Joseph, in this situation with Mary, had been wronged much more than my perceived wrongs this morning. Yet, Matthew, through the Holy Spirit, calls Joseph righteous in his dealings with Mary. Not only is he righteous in choosing not to disgrace her but he's also compassionate towards her.
Later in the passage, Joseph also proves his self-control and obedience by following through with
making Mary his wife, keeping her a virgin, and then naming her son Jesus just as the angel had commanded.
In short, he responded the way I should have - with righteousness, compassion, obedience and self-control.
Praise the Lord with me this morning that He is a forgiving God. He does not keep me in my unrighteous state, but leads me to repentance and hopefully, to greater self-control for the future.
Enjoy your Wednesday.
- Magen Ranae
PS: Hope this post doesn't cause you too much shock after my 4 month absence. :)
