How These 8 Things Will Change The Way You Approach Christmas

As Christmas nears, I find myself wondering what it must have been like to be Joseph (Jesus' stepfather). Understanding this is nothing short of the greatest wisdom available for men. How These 8 Things Will Change The Way You Approach Christmas!

There are lots of books and bible teachings about Christmas. Most of them have to do with Jesus himself and rightfully so. Then you have some teaching where Mary (Jesus' mom) is highlighted. But I don't know of many books or bible teachings where Joseph was the center of the teaching. And so as Christmas day is just days away, I want to look at Christmas from the eyes of a man. And today it is all about Joseph, the man, the father and the husband.

I. The Scene - Approach Christmas

I'll set the scene now; Joseph's heart was full of anticipation over his recent engagement to Mary. He had to be daydreaming and thinking about what his life would be like, and he was, no doubt, optimistic about his future. Little did he know that God had other plans and that the first Christmas would get in his way.

The bible does not tell us how Joseph came to notice MARY'S condition. I wonder, did she tell him from the start? Did she begin to show and have to explain it to him or did he even give her a chance to explain? And, suppose he did. How in the world was he going to believe something as far fetched as the actual truth?

"An angel appeared to you?" Joseph may have asked, "Angels do that all the time, don’t they?" He would have been sarcastic about it, "Come on, Mary. You’ve driven a knife through my heart. Don’t add insult to injury by lying to me!"

II. Hindsight is 20/20 - Approach Christmas

Hindsight is 20/20 they say and so you and I both know that Mary was telling the truth. Nevertheless, I can only imagine how bad Mary felt when her husband-to-be didn't believe her and now didn't trust her. But, I don't want to focus on Mary since this post is written for men and about men. I want to look at all of this from Joseph's point of view. Can you imagine how crushed he felt that Mary would betray him this way (At least he thought she did, what other logical explanation is there)?

If you put yourself in his shoes, this had to be a huge disappointment! Once Joseph thought Mary was unfaithful, it must have given him the unwelcome effect of leaving him feeling inadequate. This is what must have been going through his mind: "Wasn’t my love enough for her? I guess not, and what does that say about me"? He may also have lost the ability to trust not only Mary but anyone, at least for a time. He might have asked himself, How can I ever love again? How can I possibly risk another broken heart?

III. A Good Man - Approach Christmas

Whatever Joseph was feeling – and we don’t know, do we? Because the text doesn’t tell us – but whatever it was, we know that he was a righteous man. Even though, in his mind, he had been dealt this dreadful blow, even though the foundations of his world had been shaken, even though he had been hurt and hurt deeply, he didn’t seek to retaliate. Mary had wounded him; he wouldn’t do the same to her.

In fact, Matthew tells us that he “was unwilling to expose her to public disgrace.” So, he “planned to dismiss her quietly.” It was a noble thing. Back in those days, an engagement was as binding as a marriage, and he would have been within his rights to drag Mary through an ugly and mean-spirited divorce. He could have ruined her for life. But he didn’t. Instead, he was willing to make it easy on her, as easy as he could make it.

IV. Sleepless Nights - Approach Christmas

I’m guessing that he may have had trouble going to sleep at night. You know how it is when your mind is spinning and you can’t quit think about how you got where you are and what you’re going to do now. Joseph’s life had been interrupted – which, I suppose, is an understatement. This isn’t how he had planned things to go at all. He had always been careful. He was known for his sound judgment. How could he have gone so wrong? With these thoughts churning in his brain, he finally drifted off to sleep.

But even his sleep was interrupted. He was awakened by a dream. Nothing unusual about that, but this was an unusual dream. No “visions of sugarplums” dancing in his head! His vision was of something much more frightening: he saw an angel, and the angel called him by name. Joseph, he said, do not be afraid. Joseph, your fears are unfounded. The baby that Mary is carrying is from the Holy Spirit.