A Change in the Way He Sees

Joseph sitting on his bed shocked at what he had just dreamt.

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. She will bear a Son; and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.” Matthew 1v20, 21

For Joseph, he is faced with a different kind but similar question like Mary.

It’s not about him, but its about Mary and about the Baby she carries. The question for him is, “How is he gonna take care of the woman who carries the Savior of the World?”

The story tells us that he was ready to postpone the wedding and send her away secretly. He found out that his wife-to-be is pregnant and he was ready to leave her unless something caused him to change the way he sees this situation.

So the angel showed up and tells him,

“Do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife for He will save his people from their sins. “

I can just imagine his face in shock when he heard this news. I can see him questioning God, “Why me? Why Marry who was to be my wife? Why does it have to be us?”

But nonetheless, he listens and takes this task that was given to him. Because he knew if he isn’t going to take it, no one else will. The well being of Mary and this Baby will be dependent upon his protection of them.

Like Mary’s stewardship and nurture, and protection over her pregnancy, Joseph would have to do the same for the both of them. Instead of sending her away, he starts to realize that she is worth protecting. She needs to be taking care of. God called both of them on a mission to raise Jesus and he was not about to pass up on becoming part of something that is bigger than himself.

If you were Joseph, would you have continued to with it knowing the burden and the sacrifice and the hardship raising this Baby King?

Nurturing a Legacy

Has anybody else considered that who Jesus become as an adult is directly reflected by how He was raised as a child?

Who Jesus is, not only resulted in Him believing what the Father says about Him, but also on how Mary & Joseph nurtured, cultivated, and steward who He is when He was growing up.

And when The Father said, “This is my Son whom I well pleased,” became a statement of confirmation that solidified His identify even more so.

Mary & Joseph knew the greatness of Jesus. They knew who He will become: A King that will save the world.

That was their starting point.

The way they would teach Him in the ways He would talk or in the way He would see the world would be in reflection of who He will become.

Just imagine, if Mary or Joseph told Jesus as a baby, “stop crying, you’re annoying me!”

As a toddler, “You’re such a brat!” or

In his teenage years, “You’ve never gonna amount to anything!”

What would’ve happen? How would that reflected on Jesus as He was growing up?
Of course, we will never say these things to anybody, right? Let alone our kids!

But for Mary & Joseph, raising Jesus, was only the beginning of the legacy that they left behind. It continues on even today. Most of us has not even thought about the way Mary & Joseph lived their life and how they raised Jesus. They knew that they had in their mind a Legacy that needed to be nurtured and cultivated and protected.

Mary and Joseph knew that they needed to live their life with a legacy in mind.
And to them, Jesus would be that Legacy.