Chosen by God

You know...we always hear a lot about Mary. Chosen by God to be the mother of Jesus, she was young, unmarried, probably a little frightened, and yet was the one that God wanted to bear His only Son. Not to downplay her role at all, because she obviously was a very important woman, but what about Joseph? We tend to ignore his role in Jesus's life. These were hard times for him, too. Marriage was very important during this time period - to marry well and have lots of children to continue your lineage. So here he is, about to get married, & he finds out that his fiancée is pregnant. He must have been angry at first. I think many marriages during this time were arranged, some never knowing the other before their wedding, many without love. However, I think if God chose these two to raise His Son, that they were in love. From the way Joseph treats Mary, we see that not only was he in love with her, but that he was even more in love with God. So, angry & confused, God sent an angel to Joseph telling him that Mary was indeed pregnant, but that she was telling the truth - the baby inside her was the Messiah. Joseph, just like Mary, was chosen by God. Jesus grew up under his roof, learning his trade.

Oftentimes today, we exalt Mary. We see this especially in the Catholic church where many would consider Mary to be as important, if not more than, Jesus. I under no circumstances claim that as truth, because it's clearly not. As much as I admire Mary (she's my favorite woman in the Bible), I want to take the time to remember Joseph's role & be thanful for the pard he had in Jesus's life on Earth.