Real Life Faith
It’s easy to become acquainted with the Biblical narrative and develop apathy to the real, actual faith that was required of the characters we read about. I was reading through Matthew 1 the other day and was struck by what Joseph must have went through in the months leading up to the birth of Jesus.
Joseph finds himself betrothed (engaged) to a young woman named Mary. In the ancient Jewish custom, the betrothal was a binding covenant. Joseph and Mary were legally together although their marriage hadn’t been solidified. Often there would be a bride price paid and a contract rectified. These things all would have likely been fulfilled at the time we pick up the story of Joseph and Mary.
We don’t know how far along in the betrothal process it was, but at some point, Joseph finds out his soon-to-be wife Mary is pregnant. Virgin births weren’t commonplace, so there really was only one explanation – Mary had been with someone else.
I can’t even imagine the emotions coursing through Joseph at his finding out. And see, Joseph had legal grounds to have Mary stoned for suspected adultery (Deuteronomy 22). But we see something remarkable about Joseph’s character. We’re told, “(Joseph), being a just man and unwilling to put her to shame, resolved to divorce her quietly” (Matthew 1:19).
It was only after this internal resolution of Joseph’s that he is then met by an angel of the Lord in a dream telling him not to fear at taking Mary as his wife as the child was conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit (Matthew 1:20-21).
The morning after this dream is what struck me – Joseph had to believe it. Keep in mind, it had been 400 years since the Jewish people had heard from the Lord. The angel doesn’t tell Joseph he has to do anything. No, he tells him not to be afraid to take Mary as his wife. By agreeing to this, his life is going to change drastically in the public’s eye. This is a small town, people gossiped then just like they do today.
Not only that, but there had to have been thoughts flit through his head attacking the words of the angel, trying to convince him that his bride-to-be was unfaithful. This couldn’t have been an easy endeavor.
What I’m learning from Joseph here is that God presents us with opportunities in our lives to have outrageous faith. These moments can function as crossroads. Joseph could have said no, and divorced Mary quietly. He wouldn’t have been struck down with lightning from the heavens, he could have ended up having a very normal life, but he said yes and instead became our Savior’s only earthly father.
I doubt this made total sense to Joseph. In the same vein, I want to ask you – is there an area of your life that the Lord is opening a “faith” door for you to walk through? If not just yet, be on the lookout and in the meantime, pray for the courage to say “yes” to all that God has for you. God is kind enough not to force His plan and He’s also willing to take detours. But would we have the faith to say “yes” to what’s He’s calling us to even when it makes no sense at all. Just look at Jospeh – you never know where it may take you.
