A Divine Disruption
December 20, 2009
A Divine Disruption. That's what Grace Community Church (www.gracecc.org) has recently been studying the arrival of Jesus Christ. Seeing as how I'm in Florida, I only caught today's sermon. It focused on the character of Joseph in the story. What an incredibly overlooked person in the Bible! Let's look at a few major points of Joseph's character:
- He could have divorced Mary or, worse, had her stoned. Instead (before he was visited by the angel) he decided to divorce her quietly. While he most likely felt cheated and betrayed, he was still concerning himself with Mary's well-being
- He could have rejected the angel's instruction. Instead, he chose to listen to God's calling, despite what it would cost him
- He faithfully stuck with Mary, regardless of the stigma that would forever be associated with their relationship
When you really dig into it, this is no small thing. But the application from his life to ours is incredibly profound:
- Don't concern yourself with what other people think when you are doing God's will
- I would extend this to note that we shouldn't overly concern ourselves with what other people think anyhow
- Be willing to allow God to disrupt your life, including your plans, your future, your hopes and your dreams
- Be concerned with the well-being of others
Joseph is a guy who doesn't get a lot of press. But he faithfully moved his family all over the place to protect a child that wasn't his because he loved and obeyed God.