Now the birth of Jesus Christ took place under these circumstances: When His mother Mary had been promised in marriage to Joesph, before they came together, she was found to be pregnant [through the power] of the Holy Spirit.
And her [promised] husband Joesph, being a just and upright man and not willing to expose her publicly and to shame and disgrace her, decided to repudiate and dismiss (divorce) her quietly and secretly. Matt 1:18,19
As a man this passage really speaks to me and I will show you why. This post is directed towards single men but if you are married or if you are a single woman please feel free and read through as well. If you have any points you would like to add please feel free to share……. 🙂
The first thing to understand is,
– Mary under law was supposed to be stoned. Joesph was her promised husband but they were not married yet. She had not been with him yet. So the fact that she was pregnant meant she was unfaithful (we know what really happened) which meant death.
– Joesph did not know she was pregnant through the power of the Holy Spirit so he could of lashed out at her because he was hurt. He could of embarrassed her and shamed her as payback. That is what any other man would of done in the same situation but he didn’t.
As young men preparing for marriage we can learn from Joesph. He was a man of character. He protected Mary even though it looked like she did him wrong.
We as men are called to protect. Don’t wait till marriage to learn, start now in your friendships with the opposite sex. Are you protecting the women in your life? You do that by your actions. Are you watching how you speak to them or are you watching your thoughts towards them? Are you encouraging them in the way of the Lord? These are some of the ways we can protect the women in our lives. I would just like to clarify something. The job of protection falls on the dad. You as a friend can protect her to some extent but it’s her family’s role. Let’s carry on….
– He was a man of integrity and character. In this time of singleness you need to build your character. Without character you cannot accomplish anything great. Allow God to build godly character in you.
– Joesph was a humble man. He didn’t allow pride to dictate how he responded to Mary.
-In the verse 20 we read how the angel of the Lord spoke to him about Mary. God was involved and that showed me that God is interested in who we are to marry. He is not just sitting and watching from afar, no. He is involved. Allow Him to come and take control of that area of your life. He wants to be involved!!!!
That is what I have to share for you men. I pray God will open your eyes to see the heart of Joesph as He did to me. I want to be like Joesph. A man who is humble and who protects and who trusts God.
I pray the same for you.
Rolain
kingspeech 