We all know how the book of Matthew starts off, ay:
MATTHEW
The genealogy of Jesus the Messiah
1 This is the genealogy of Jesus the Messiah the son of David, the son of Abraham:
2 Abraham was the father of Isaac,
Isaac the father of Jacob,
Jacob the father of Judah and his brothers,
3 Judah the father of .....................
and so on and so forth down to verse 16, where we see Jesus come into the picture.
I have read it before, and, because I never imagine getting anything out of it, I don't bother with it. Until today. Actually, I got halfway through then jumped to the end. I was going to skip all of it but I got the urge to read this part:
I have read it before, and, because I never imagine getting anything out of it, I don't bother with it. Until today. Actually, I got halfway through then jumped to the end. I was going to skip all of it but I got the urge to read this part:
16...and Jacob the father of Joseph, the husband of Mary,
and Mary was the mother of Jesus who is called the Messiah.
When I read it, revelation hit. :) (I love those moments! :) )
It may not be important to you. Or, you may know it already. But I just have to share what I believe God opened my eyes to: JOSEPH WAS CHOSEN...
Joseph was chosen, too. Not just Mary.
I always see Mary as our main character in their part of history - after Jesus, of course. We see the chosen virgin. The one who was given the task to bring our Saviour into the world. And we applaud her. We admire her. We respect her and give her praise. And rightly so. But what about poor Joseph? The "stepdad". He's normally just a backup character. Isn't he? Someone who helps the protagonist get to where she needs to go in order to achieve whatever she needs to achieve... and then he's lost to the back story, rarely thought upon again. He was a good bloke, no one doubts that, but, that's about all, isn't it?
No. Joseph was chosen. He was chosen by God. It was Joseph's genealogy recorded in Matthew 1. He was the son of the son of the son and so on and so forth, going right back through David and on to Abraham. Joseph is the great, great etc and so on grandson of Abraham...and of David, for that matter. He has their blood in his veins.
Seeing this, it had me wondering if Mary was chosen because she was Mary, or because she was to be the wife of the "great, great etc and so on grandson of Abraham..." Maybe, just maybe, it was decided, by God, that Jesus's mother would be whoever Joseph married. And, as it turned out, that was Mary. This doesn't make Mary less worthy of anything, but it ups Joseph's worth, I reckon.
Thinking about this moved my heart towards Joseph, and towards husbands everywhere - mine included. It had me reviewing my old church days when the women were the more prominent 'doers' and husbands rarely made it to church let alone got involved in any ministry. During my faith walk, I've seen a lot of husband's pushed into the background, as though they are little more than a secondary character in the wife's story - or, of her calling. Mine included. (Seeing Joseph in a new light convicted me.)
This revelation pointed out to me that we husbands and wives are in this together. We're a team. The one who births the 'ministry' may get all the praise and glory, as Mary does, as many pastors and leaders do (male and female), but, odds are, God called us to be equal partners in whatever calling or task He has put before us. Chances are, ladies, you were chosen to do 'that' because of who you married. (And vice versa, of course.) You're a team. A partnership. Equal partners.
It may not be important to you. Or, you may know it already. But I just have to share what I believe God opened my eyes to: JOSEPH WAS CHOSEN...
Joseph was chosen, too. Not just Mary.
I always see Mary as our main character in their part of history - after Jesus, of course. We see the chosen virgin. The one who was given the task to bring our Saviour into the world. And we applaud her. We admire her. We respect her and give her praise. And rightly so. But what about poor Joseph? The "stepdad". He's normally just a backup character. Isn't he? Someone who helps the protagonist get to where she needs to go in order to achieve whatever she needs to achieve... and then he's lost to the back story, rarely thought upon again. He was a good bloke, no one doubts that, but, that's about all, isn't it?
No. Joseph was chosen. He was chosen by God. It was Joseph's genealogy recorded in Matthew 1. He was the son of the son of the son and so on and so forth, going right back through David and on to Abraham. Joseph is the great, great etc and so on grandson of Abraham...and of David, for that matter. He has their blood in his veins.
Seeing this, it had me wondering if Mary was chosen because she was Mary, or because she was to be the wife of the "great, great etc and so on grandson of Abraham..." Maybe, just maybe, it was decided, by God, that Jesus's mother would be whoever Joseph married. And, as it turned out, that was Mary. This doesn't make Mary less worthy of anything, but it ups Joseph's worth, I reckon.
Thinking about this moved my heart towards Joseph, and towards husbands everywhere - mine included. It had me reviewing my old church days when the women were the more prominent 'doers' and husbands rarely made it to church let alone got involved in any ministry. During my faith walk, I've seen a lot of husband's pushed into the background, as though they are little more than a secondary character in the wife's story - or, of her calling. Mine included. (Seeing Joseph in a new light convicted me.)
This revelation pointed out to me that we husbands and wives are in this together. We're a team. The one who births the 'ministry' may get all the praise and glory, as Mary does, as many pastors and leaders do (male and female), but, odds are, God called us to be equal partners in whatever calling or task He has put before us. Chances are, ladies, you were chosen to do 'that' because of who you married. (And vice versa, of course.) You're a team. A partnership. Equal partners.
You may not be called to be a prophet - as mentioned in Jeremiah 1:4 and 5 - but you're called for a purpose, and whatever that purpose is, if you are married, or plan to be, your spouse is an equal partner. Both are called. Both are chosen. Both are equally as important. Both are handpicked by God. The two shall be one. One spouse is not more, or less, than the other...no matter who appears to be going through labour pains in bringing 'it' to pass. You are the equal half of one team.
Sometimes, when passion whisks us off into our calling, we can get to viewing our partner as being less important than the calling/ministry/mission/etc. And they're not. If that's the case with you, before you walk away from your partner, or see and treat them as 'less' or as playing a lesser part in that ministry or mission you've set your heart on, you'd better check with God that He didn't give you your part because of who your spouse is.
Ok, I gotta go. I have some repenting to do. I'm off to have God open my eyes - as He obviously desires to - so I can see more of my husband's worth.
xxxx
Ok, I gotta go. I have some repenting to do. I'm off to have God open my eyes - as He obviously desires to - so I can see more of my husband's worth.
xxxx