My Redeemer Lives

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

Joseph wakes up from his troubled sleep, maybe a bit shaken and confused, but certain of one thing: something big was unfolding… something bigger than himself, bigger than his feelings, bigger than his pride, bigger than his current circumstances…

He couldn’t explain it, but he was sure it was real and he knew what to do. He was going to take Mary as his wife and parent the child she was carrying the best he could.

Joseph knew better than to dismiss the vision. So he disregarded society’s conventions and trusted God’s word. He took Mary with him to his town of origin to register in the Census as a family unit. While doing that, as God would design it,

“…the time came for the baby to be born, and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no guest room available for them.” Luke 2: 6-7

Prophesy after prophesy was becoming fulfilled in a matter of months.

All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: “The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel” (which means “God with us”). 
Matthew 1: 22-23

“But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah,

though you are small among the clans[b] of Judah,

out of you will come for me

one who will be ruler over Israel,

whose origins are from of old,

from ancient times.” Micah 5: 2

And Joseph was at the center of such transcendental events. Had he decided not to go through with it and divorced Mary, he would have missed the whole experience and would have had to be no more than a distant spectator rather than one of the main characters.

Joseph stopped waiting for an ordinary life, and instead began to witness extraordinary events. God´s irresistible grace sought him out and his willingness to obey took him into a new life. And what a life! Joseph got to receive the new born King into his hands to present Him to the world. He ushered the Light into the darkness. He protected Him by fleeing to Egypt. He saw Him grow up in stature and wisdom. He taught Him his trade. He saw Him develop into the Messiah.

Though far from easy and quiet, Joseph’s life was an adventure along God’s undecipherable roads. May we, like Joseph, be willing to trade the ordinary for the extraordinary as we too walk along the path that God has opened up for us.