Lessons I Learned from Mary and Joseph
There was an airline pilot who told his co-pilot, “Time really changes things. When I was a boy, I used to sit in a flat bottom boat on a lake down there and fish. Every time a plane would fly over, I’d look up and wish I were in it. Now I look down and wish I were down there fishing.”
I guess at one time or another we all feel like this pilot did. And it is amazing how time really does change things.
Take Christmas, for example. This is the time that we all get together to celebrate all the wonder and glory of the season. Everywhere you look there are Christmas plays with kids who put towels on their heads to make them look more like the shepherds in the Christmas story. Church choirs work hard so that they can sing about the wonderful news of the coming of the King. If you think about it, this is the one time of year the whole world just seems to stop everything and think about the reality of God.
We have it so much more easier for us than it must have been for Mary and Joseph. As I sit and think about what it must have been like back then, and how the two young people experienced the very first Christmas, it must have been the trip of a life time.
I want to start with Mary. Here was a beautiful young woman. She was a woman of flawless character and good reputation. I bet the people of her hometown, when they saw her going to draw water from the well, would say “Ah! That Mary-she’s a good one; you could not find a better young lady in all the land. Joseph better thank his lucky stars that he found this one. He is a very lucky man. I hope that our son can find someone like Mary.” The hope of any parent is that their child will grow up, marry someone who will be good to them, take care of them and live a happy life together.
Well, that was Mary. She had just gotten engaged to Joseph. She was looking forward to spending her life with this man and raising a family and growing old together. Then one day something dramatic happened; something she never expected and no one had ever experienced. Now here’s the wild part, the angel, Gabriel, came to her and told her that she was going to become the mother of God’s Son. Hello! She probably just stood in awe. Can you imagine what was going through her mind! I mean, this had to just blow her mind to think about this wonderful news; but how was this going to happen?
As the days went by, she must have had other concerns. She probably was thinking, “What will the neighbors think? What will the family say? What in the world is Joseph going to do when he finds out?” How was she going to explain this to him, and would he believe her?
Then came the day when Joseph did find out. Now, no one really knows for sure how he found out, but he did. Mary may have told him; and if she did, he did not believe her. Before you throw the first stone, you need to put yourself into Joseph’s shoes. Try to imagine the hurt and pain he must have felt. The woman he was in love with had just told him that she was going to have a baby, and he was not the daddy.
Also, think what Mary was going through; the anxiety she must have felt, and the hurt she must have experienced as she heard Joseph say, “THE WEDDING IS OFF”. What in the world was she going to do? What would happen to her? Now we have the luxury of having the Bible to tell us that the angel was going to appear to Joseph and tell him the truth about what had happened to Mary. Yeah, we know, but Mary didn’t. We don’t know how long all this went on; it could have been weeks living in fear and uncertainty, no doubt crying over the loss of the man she was so in love with.
Then as always, God stepped into the picture, and the engagement was back on. But you and I know how word gets out. Some things you just can’t keep a secret. Mary was living in a society where being pregnant before marriage was strictly forbidden. And who in their right mind would believe Mary’s story if Joseph had not? Can you just see the neighborhood women all gather up and pointing and whispering: “Did you hear about Mary? They say the baby is not Joseph’s. What a shame!” Poor Mary must have had to live with the daily dose of gossip and ridicule. But, praise God, we know the outcome of the story. We can look at these things from a distance, but Mary had to live them up close.
Here’s what I have learned about celebrating Christmas from Mary’s and Joseph’s experiences.
SERVING GOD IS NOT ALWAYS EASY:
I hear preachers on the radio and TV today tell people that it is easy to serve God. “If you just give your heart to Jesus, all will go well for you. If you serve the Lord, you will have no more trouble.” That is a load of horse manure! Where did the gospel of prosperity come from? It did not come out of the scriptures. It did not come from Jesus, for He said in John 16:33 – “I have told you all this so that you may have peace in Me. Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows. But take heart, because I have overcome the world.” And you will not find it in the Christmas story. Mary and Joseph have their share of heartaches.
Nowhere in the scriptures will you find that serving God is supposed to be easy. Look at the lives of many of the greatest servants in the Bible and in our world today, Abraham, David, the prophets, etc. Here’s one example for you to look at, David Branerd: He was a missionary to the American Indians. He died of pneumonia at the age of 29. He said “I cared not where I lived or what hardships I went through, so that I could gain souls for Christ.” Man, what a powerful word!
Folks, if you’re still reading this blog, you need to know that God does not promise that serving Him will be easy! But He does promise that He will be with us. Look back at John 16:33 – “I have told you all this so that you may have peace in Me. Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows. But take heart, because I have overcome the world.” Look at the last part of this verse: “But take heart, because I have overcome the world.” That tells us that greater is He that is in you than He that is in the world. In other words, the devil has no power where the Lord Jesus Christ resides!
FAITHFULNESS AND OBEDIENCE PAY SPIRITUAL DIVIDENDS:
Have you ever heard the saying, “Payday some day”? Well, here it is another way; payday may not come today, next week, or next year; but obeying God pays rich spiritual dividends.
Mary and Joseph stand as a testimony to this truth! God gave them a unique place in human history. He gave them the privilege of rearing HIS SON in their home. Man, that’s a call if there ever has been one!
If we could look through the window into Heaven and see this couple, I wonder what they would say to us today. I believe they would say, “It was all worth it! The struggles, the difficulties, the pain; it was all worth it.” They would tell us that they would do it all over again, a thousand times over if need be.
Let me ask you right now – what are your circumstances; what problems are you dealing with at this moment? Has the devil been standing behind you and whispering into your ear, “Is this Christian life worth going through all of this?” You can tell him that this is not the life that you are looking forward to; the one you’re waiting on is the one that you have with Jesus in Heaven. What a day that will be!!
IT’S MORE IMPORTANT TO BE CONCERNED ABOUT WHAT GOD THINKS THAN WHAT PEOPLE THINK!
This old world will put pressure on us. It will try to conform us to its standards. Mary and Joseph could have very easily have said: “I’m not going to do this. I’m not going to endure the pressure. What others think about me is more important than what God thinks.” BUT THEY DIDN’T! They willingly surrendered to God’s will for their lives. They listened to what God had to say instead of what other people might have said.
So, I have a question for ya. How many of you are afraid to serve God because of what family, friends, or co-workers might say? WHO IS GOING TO CALL THE SHOTS IN YOUR LIFE?
When God calls you to act, are you going to do it or will you make some excuse? Whose agenda are you going to follow – God’s or yours?
Mary and Joseph followed God’s; and although they experienced struggle and heartache, we can all celebrate the result today. Their lives stand as a monument to the fact that a life lived for God is exceedingly worth living!