18 This is how the birth of Jesus Christ came about: His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be with child through the Holy Spirit. 19Because Joseph her husband was a righteous man and did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly. 20But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. 21She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.” 22All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: 23“The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel”—which means, “God with us.”
24When Joseph woke up, he did what the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took Mary home as his wife. 25But he had no union with her until she gave birth to a son. And he gave him the name Jesus.
2:14So he got up, took the child and his mother during the night and left for Egypt, 15where he stayed until the death of Herod.
There is not a scrooge moment to be experienced in the Squires’ home during the Christmas season. We love everything about Christmas. We put away the familiar worship music and break out Amy Grant belting out “Immanuel.” We enjoy playing “I Spy” around the Christmas tree. And oh, how we love to kiss under the mistletoe. On Christmas day we read the Christmas story and pray, open gifts, and write our memories down in a Christmas journal. What a joy to read the kids’ comments from years past and to watch as their handwriting improves. Finally, after the gifts are opened, we retire to the dining room for Eggs Benedict prepared by Dad.
Tradition. Routine. Family heritage. One of the joys of Christmas is the anticipation of that which is familiar. Yet it is thrilling to break with tradition, add a new family custom, and watch as people venture down a road never traveled. God did that at Christmas time. This Christmas brings us one season closer to the soon return of Jesus Christ. He came down a road that hadn’t been traveled. He did it as only God can - with grace. Defeating Sin. Giving mankind hope and new future.
The Joseph Effect
The salmon nearly leaped onto their hooks! That was a far cry from the day before when the four anglers couldn’t even seem to catch an old boot.
Disappointed but not discouraged, they had climbed aboard their small seaplane and skimmed over the Alaskan mountains to a pristine, secluded bay where the fish were sure to bite.
They parked their aircraft and waded upstream, where the water teemed with ready-to-catch salmon. Later that afternoon, when they returned to their camp, they were surprised to find the seaplane high and dry. The tides fluctuated twenty-three feet in that particular bay, and the pontoons rested on a bed of gravel. Since they couldn’t fly out till morning, they settled in for the night and enjoyed some of their catch for dinner then slept in the plane.
In the morning the seaplane was adrift, so they promptly cranked the engine and started to take off. Too late, they discovered one of the pontoons had been punctured and was filled with water. The extra weight threw the plane into a circular pattern. Within moments from liftoff the seaplane careened into the sea and capsized.
Dr. Phil Littleford determined that everyone was alive, including his twelve-year-old son, Mark. He suggested they pray, which the other two men quickly endorsed. No safety equipment could be found on board—no vests, no flares, nothing. The plane gurgled and submerged into the blackness of the icy morning sea. Fortunately, they all had waders which they inflated. The frigid Alaskan water chilled their breath.
They all began to swim to shore, but the riptide countered every stroke. The two men alongside Phil and Mark were strong swimmers and they both made shore, one just catching the tip of land as the tides pulled them out toward sea.
Their two companions last saw Phil and Mark as a disappearing dot on the horizon, swept arm-in-arm out to sea.
The Coast Guard reported they probably lasted no more than an hour in the freezing waters—hypothermia would chill the body functions and they would go to sleep. Mark, with a smaller body mass, would fall asleep first in his father’s arms. Phil could have made the shoreline too, but that would have meant abandoning his son. Their bodies were never found.
What father wouldn’t be willing to die for his son? Phil could have made shoreline. (1)
Joseph could have made shoreline. He could have abandoned Mary in her greatest hour of need. He could have. Some thought he should have. He didn’t because of love. Joseph loved Mary deeply. You could see it in his eyes and in his actions. Joseph was faithful to God. He was raised in the tradition of the local carpentry shop.
So what is the Joseph effect? For Joseph it wasn’t about labor, it was about love. Life is about love. The most important skill God wants you to cultivate is How To Love. You are never more like God than when you love unconditionally.
It is amazing what two little letters can do to change the meaning of a word. When we talk about love, it is imperative that you discriminate between “conditional” love and “unconditional” love. Joseph’s love was unconditional. He loved Mary with no strings attached. Most of our love is selfish in nature. It is conditional love.
I love you if/because you don’t let me down.
I love you if/because you don’t rub me the wrong way,
I love you if/because you meet my standards.
It is easy to love people we like or who are like us. God’s desire is to teach us to love everyone, but God wants us to love His church especially. Can you imagine someone loving God and hating His bride? Saying yes to Jesus, but no to you or me! Love is what draws the lost to Jesus. When they see it evidenced in our lives they become attracted and interested in God.
The only reason you can love is because God first loved you; Paul tells us that in Romans 5:8, “When we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.” To truly understand how to love we have to start with a definition given by God: God is love. (1 John 4:16)
Notice it doesn’t say, “love is God.” God sets the definition for what love is all about, not mankind. Before we can truly love others we must understand and experience how deeply God loves us. Listen to what Paul says about love in the Living Bible:
“17And I pray that Christ will be more and more at home in your hearts as you trust in him. May your roots go down deep into the soil of God’s marvelous love. 18And may you have the power to understand, as all God’s people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep his love really is.” (Ephesians 3:17-18 TLB)
Circle those three little words - feel, understand and experience. Why is it critical to feel, understand and experience God’s love? Because people who are not loved often act unloving. A person can’t give love when he is hurting; hurt people, hurt people. And by the way, if a person can’t get love, he’ll strive for attention. Children do this all the time. Much of a child’s behavior is a plea for love. Seeking attention is a plea for love. If a person can’t get positive attention, they’ll seek negative.
God wants you to know that loving should be your greatest motivation, your number one objective and top priority. You don’t turn love off and on. It not a part of your life, it is your life. Love needs to be your primary aim.
The only way you can love others in God’s family is in His strength and for His glory. God believes this is so important that at Christmas time He gives us His very name as a source of support - Immanuel—God with us. He not only gives us His nature (love), He gives us His name. Names are important because they are a source of self-revelation. When we meet someone the first question is usually, “What is your name?” With each of God’s names we are introduced to an aspect of His character. So, when can I have God’s help, support, and character? When you are committed to loving God’s church and His people. Joseph gives us a beautiful picture of how to pull this off. God will be with you as you discover how wonderful His church and family are.
God is with us when family compassion is needed.
18This is how the birth of Jesus Christ came about: His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be with child through the Holy Spirit. 19Because Joseph her husband was a righteous man and did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly.
For generations God’s people had waited anxiously for the deliverer to arrive. God’s Word had been searched for hints as to the location of the birth. Fathers faithfully taught their children to expect His coming. Mothers often peered into the eyes of little daughters wondering if they would be chosen by God to carry this special child into the world.
Then God said, “That’s enough waiting.” God sent the Holy Spirit, whose purpose was to carry out the will of the Father and Son to a virgin womb. Mary was young. She needed compassion and to be treated with kid gloves. If Joseph acted graciously toward Mary, she would not only accept her favored status, but then perhaps she could understand her unusual circumstances.
Joseph loved Mary with actions, not just words. If you take a peak at 1 Corinthians 13:4-8, you’ll make the same observation I do - love is an action. Fifteen types of actions that convey love are associated with these verses. Let me highlight a short list of actions that Joseph did to demonstrate his love for Mary:
Joseph protected Mary from embarrassment.
Joseph set aside his agenda for God’s and Mary’s.
Joseph modeled biblical abstinence.
Joseph safely led his family safely out of a national disaster.
God is with us when family conflict is misunderstood by others.
20But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. 21She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.”
Have you ever been misunderstood by someone? How about the time you tried to help people understand. Did that work, or was it a fruitless task. Since life is about love one aspect you can count on is others misunderstanding your love. It happened to Joseph and it will happen to you.
That day Joseph faced the fear of being misunderstood. What were his friends, family, and work associates thinking? We have to come to a place where it only matters what God thinks. His opinion will last forever. His opinion will take you through heartache. When a person is truly a servant of God they see God’s assignments not as an obligation, but as an opportunity. The closer you get to Jesus, the less you worry about what others think.
The family of God is willing to be misunderstood. This can lead to conflict, but when you truly function as the Church you will come out more like Jesus Christ because of it.
God is with us when the family commits to walking in obedience.
24When Joseph woke up, he did what the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took Mary home as his wife. 25But he had no union with her until she gave birth to a son. And he gave him the name Jesus.
The Christian life is 10% knowledge and 90% obedience. We really start to grow in the Christian life when we walk in obedience. Joseph woke up and did what the Lord had commanded. Can that be said of you? It is the walk of obedience with God that really brings His blessing. God’s servants have been called upon to walk in radical obedience. Joseph took his pregnant wife home. Abraham took his beloved son to the mountain. Moses took his stammering speech back to Egypt. Peter took his prejudiced life to a non-kosher meal.
God wants total obedience, not partial obedience. God wants immediate obedience, not delayed obedience. Any act of obedience is an act of love. God wants us to obey like Joseph. This means to obey completely (no instruction overlooked) and to obey exactly (do it in God’s timing).
In Myanmar (Burma) children are taught to give objects to their parents and elders with both hands. Joseph offered obedience to God using both hands. On one hand he offered “complete obedience,” and on the other hand he “obeyed exactly.”
Why is obedience so important to God? Because it shows that you really love Him. Jesus said, “If you love me you will obey my commandments.”
This Christmas season God is inviting us down a road less traveled to go all the way with family relationships in the Body of Christ; to love those who are different and to protect the delicate work of God’s spirit in an imperfect person. To be misunderstood by outsiders about how the grace of God works in the church. Today Joseph guides our thinking as we understand how to be the family of God.
End Notes
(1) Patrick Morley, The Man in the Mirror, Zondervan Publishing, Grand Rapids, Michigan. 1997,pg. 116-117.
