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- Apr 25, 2006
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Unsung hero
'... Joseph [Mary's] husband, being a just man ...' Matthew 1:19
Forget Santa, forget Rudolph, forget Scrooge, you know who really has the Christmas spirit? Joseph. The simple carpenter (who doesn't even get a mention in two of the gospels) shows us beautifully that Christmas is all about God.
So, why does God choose a kid with a GCSE in woodwork to become His only son's foster-parent? Why not a vicar or a rabbi or a king? Well, because '... Man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart' (1 Samuel 16:7 NIV). And Joseph had a heart the size of Christmas.
Most men of 1BC Nazareth would drag their fiancee out into the street and pelt her with rocks if they so much as suspected her carrying somebody else's child, but not our Joseph. God chose Joseph because of his good heart.
Secondly, Joseph shows us his Christmas spirit by placing God's plans above his own. Who needed the hassle of changing nappies and 3am feeds when the child wasn't even yours? Who needed all the curtain-twitching neighbours gossiping about your love-life when you didn't even have one? Who? Joseph, that's who. Joseph: the guy who was prepared to change his whole world for a baby.
Joseph: the guy who would put up with the moans and groans of others all for the sake of Jesus. Joseph: the guy who held a baby with a bright future one starry night 2000 years ago.
written by Bob Gass
'... Joseph [Mary's] husband, being a just man ...' Matthew 1:19
Forget Santa, forget Rudolph, forget Scrooge, you know who really has the Christmas spirit? Joseph. The simple carpenter (who doesn't even get a mention in two of the gospels) shows us beautifully that Christmas is all about God.
So, why does God choose a kid with a GCSE in woodwork to become His only son's foster-parent? Why not a vicar or a rabbi or a king? Well, because '... Man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart' (1 Samuel 16:7 NIV). And Joseph had a heart the size of Christmas.
Most men of 1BC Nazareth would drag their fiancee out into the street and pelt her with rocks if they so much as suspected her carrying somebody else's child, but not our Joseph. God chose Joseph because of his good heart.
Secondly, Joseph shows us his Christmas spirit by placing God's plans above his own. Who needed the hassle of changing nappies and 3am feeds when the child wasn't even yours? Who needed all the curtain-twitching neighbours gossiping about your love-life when you didn't even have one? Who? Joseph, that's who. Joseph: the guy who was prepared to change his whole world for a baby.
Joseph: the guy who would put up with the moans and groans of others all for the sake of Jesus. Joseph: the guy who held a baby with a bright future one starry night 2000 years ago.
written by Bob Gass
