Consider the circumstances. Mary, who had been promised in marriage to Joseph, comes to him and confides that she is pregnant. Joseph's heart had to sink. No doubt Mary explained to Joseph what the angel had told her about the Spirit conceiving the child in her womb, but all natural evidence pointed to the fact that the young woman he was supposed to spend the rest of his life with had committed adultery. Imagine what he felt at that moment; embarrassment, anger, a broken heart, confusion, disbelief. What was he supposed to believe? Joseph's first reaction was to divorce her quietly so that Mary would not be publicly shamed. He had the right to. The law permitted it (Deuteronomy 24:1). Yet Joseph did not make a hasty decision but rather he paused to consider the situation (Matthew 1:20). I've often wondered if he followed the words of Solomon and sought godly counsel (Proverbs 15:22). Who would he have talked to and what would they have advised him to do? But it doesn't matter in the end because God intervened and spoke to Joseph in a dream (Mt. 1:20-25).
Joseph took Mary as his wife and he loved Jesus as his son. He was there the night Jesus was born and he heard the shepherds' story of what the angel said to them in the field. Their account had to bring back memories of his dream. Joseph stood in the temple to present baby Jesus before God as was instructed by the Law of Moses. He was Jesus' protector as any father should be to his children (Matthew 2:13-23). Jesus was submissive to Joseph (Luke 2:51), and Joseph felt the horror of losing Jesus and searching for him frantically (Luke 2:41-52). Can you imagine what he must have felt when Jesus went missing? Misplacing the child God has entrusted to you and who he has told you is going to save the people from their sin is no small matter. After that incident, Joseph fades from Scripture. We know nothing about what happened to him after that, except that others recognized Jesus as "the son of Joseph" (John 6:42). While Joseph and Mary had biological children, Joseph accepted Jesus as his first (Luke 2:23) and loved him as his own.
As I write this on Christmas Eve in my living room, it is Christmas morning in Ethiopia. I wonder which child God has picked for me to be a daddy to this time. I wonder what that child is doing and does he or she even know what we are celebrating today. I wonder how much longer it will be before we get to meet each other. I wonder how God is going to orchestrate the circumstances of this adoption and what divine appointments await us. I wonder what God is wanting to do in the life of all my children to impact the world for His glory, and I pray for the grace to be as humble as Joseph, to raise them faithfully unto the Lord, and to be understanding as they pursue God's will for their lives. After all, they belong to Him and he picked me to be their daddy regardless of if he blessed me with them by birth or by adoption. Finally, I pray that God will give me the wisdom that Joseph had in raising Jesus and that he will grant me the humility to raise my children according to His Word no matter what the world says about us. May God bless you and your family as you celebrate the birth of Jesus.
