Devotion 14: You want me to what?

Matthew 1:19 (New International Version)
19Because Joseph her husband was a righteous man and did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly.

OK, we're just "over" Christmas. At our house the celebration lasted a little longer than usual because the GRANDCHILDREN couldn't make it till last week and well, we had to keep the decorations up and then we had to have another celebration and well..you get the picture..

Anyway, I've been thinking a lot about Joseph this year for some reason. Nothing specific, seems like I saw a Christmas special on Mary and Joesph and it struck a chord. So, I started thinking about the whole family dynamic of the birth of Christ. As I thought through this whole thing I realized that Joseph was a pretty standup guy - kind of like my step-father. My father died when I was nine months old and my mom remarried when I was about five. So, "Dad" is kind of the only Dad I know - and a truly standup guy in his own right.

But as we read, Joseph was not only a standup guy but a righteous man - and that's what struck me. I remembered a time an acquaintance stopped me at work and asked for very specific prayer for something going on in their lives. They ended their request by quoting James 5:16 ("The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective"), and yes, they were referring to me. Have you ever been called righteous? It's the quickest way to humility I know of. While I certainly prayed for this person their words have stuck with me for a long,long time. For the record - after much self analysis and comparing to men I think of as righteous - I can truly say my acquaintance was somewhat mistaken in their assessment.

Now, back to Joesph. Think about what he was asked to believe, and do. Standup guy or not this took backbone. But two things stand out. First he was a righteous man. Secondly, look to verse 20 - an angel of the Lord came to him and told him it was OK. And that's the end of the story. A little scandal, a little disbelief, Joseph makes a plan on how to handle the situation (guys HAVE to make plans - it's a control thing)and then he's told to accept and move on....and he does. No whining, no wailing, Joseph listens to God and raises his family.

I'll leave you with this. If you think being a man is hard go to biblegateway.com and search Righteous Man. Look at what it says - the rewards and the requirements. That ought to keep you busy for a while.