It's hard for me to get a handle on Joseph. Was he just a good guy doing his duty, or a committed husband supporting the woman he loved? Or did he passionately pursue a vision of salvation he caught from the angel?
Luke 2 just says that Joseph was going to divorce Mary until an angel told him not to in a dream. And then (v24-25) "When Joseph woke up, he did what the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took Mary home as his wife. But he did not consummate their marriage until she gave birth to a son. And he gave him the name Jesus."
Joseph did his duty, and until the baby came he served his wife without getting much in return. What did he think? Was he resigned? Resentful? Excited? Zechariah and Mary and Elizabeth all are recorded as singing wonderful praise songs; Joseph just wakes up and does what he's told.
Joseph was the first person in the world who had to make a decision about Jesus. He may have been the only one who had to make two decisions: Am I going to accept that my pregnant wife really did conceive by the Holy Spirit, that this baby is really God? And do I accept my son Jesus as my only hope for salvation?
Makes me think about my own decision about Jesus. Yes, I accept him as my only hope. But do I live out my obedience grudgingly, dutifully, like a set of chores? Or do I sing my gladness at the new life he's given me?
Obedience and joy ought to be the same thing. May it be more and more that way for me.
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