This is how the birth of Jesus the Messiah came about. His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be pregnant through the Holy Spirit. Because Joseph her husband was faithful to the law, and yet did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly. But 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.” ...When Joseph woke up, he did what the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took Mary home as his wife. Matthew 1:18-20, 24
Joseph had a decision to make. Would he believe the angel, obey God and destroy his reputation or would he take the easier road...divorce Mary quietly, give in to his human nature and put the problem behind him? The angel tells him not to be afraid but he is! He knows that few if any of his friends will believe this story. Would Mary's own family even believe her?
He knows that if he follows through, most everyone will believe that his wife was unfaithful and that this baby was not really his son. Does he want to deal with this sort of shame, this sort of reputation, probably for the rest of his life?
"Sometimes the implication of listening to the voice of God is that we ruin our reputation in the public square. Loving God involves surrendering ourselves to God in heart, soul, mind, strength - and reputation. The minute we turn exclusively to the Lord to find our true identity is the day reputation dies.
Joseph turns to God. Joseph learns that who he is before God (his identity) is more important that who he is in the circle of his pious friends (his reputation)." Scot McKnight
Most of us, as we follow Jesus, will come to this crossroads at least once in our life. Do we obey God even though the road ahead is uncertain, our reputation is on the line and people may not understand us or think poorly of us, or do we play it safe, go along with the crowd, ignore the voice of God in our heart?
We most likely will not be visited by an angel, as Joseph was, to encourage our obedience. But...we do have something he didn't have. We have the Holy Spirit living in our heart. He will strengthen us to choose obedience if we will ask. And when all is said and done, isn't God's opinion of us more important than man's?
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