Monday, November 30, 2015

November 30, 2015

“When Joseph woke up, he did what the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took Mary home as his wife.” Matthew 1:24


“When they had gone, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream. “Get up,” he said, “take the child and his mother and escape to Egypt. Stay there until I tell you, for Herod is going to search for the child to kill him.” So he got up, took the child and his mother during the night and left for Egypt” Matthew 2:13-14


“After Herod died, an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt and said, “Get up, take the child and his mother and go to the land of Israel, for those who were trying to take the child’s life are dead.” So he got up, took the child and his mother and went to the land of Israel.” Matthew 2:19-21


Meditating on the Christmas story the other day a thought occurred to me, “I had trouble trusting my teen-agers with the car, but God trusted two teen-agers with the Christ!”

From everything we know about Mary and Joseph, that is what they were – teen-agers!


Once I got my mind around that I began to ponder why they were so trustworthy when mine weren’t.

My teens were immature – so were they.

My teens were inexperienced – so were they.

My teens were impulsive – they may have been.

Let me focus on the obvious and most significant difference – obedience. God could trust Joseph and Mary.


The proof is in these three verses chosen from the first few chapters of Matthew. In each of these verses Joseph obeyed God IMMEDIATELY.

That will build a little trust!


When I saw God trusting teens with the birth and care of the Savior I began to comprehend the power and potential of obedience. Wow!

After I got a grasp on that I begin to wonder what could happen in my life if I would become more obedient – instantly obedient.

What about you? How is your obedience?


God used two obedient teens to change the course of human history, not to mention the possibilities for eternity!


Our world may be only a few “obediences” away from a dramatic improvement. 

If only God could trust us!