Christmas Choice
Matthew 1:18-24
Question: When was the last time you were stuck between two choices?
Intro: My son is at the age now where we are giving him more responsibility and ability to make his own decisions. One night I gave him the difficult choice of deciding what snack to get from the concession stand at the basketball game. I gave him a $20 bill and told him one drink and a snack. He proceeded to begin negotiating like he always wants to do in order to try and gain something else. I took the $20 away and told him to go sit down. (Yes, I am a mean dad, or as my kids affectionately call me, “Bad Dad.”)
About 10 minutes later I called him over and started the process again, but this time I did not give the speech. I asked him what the plan was for his visit to the concession stand. It was at this time he said one drink and one snack.
Life is about choices. Some are easy like this one with my son, but others can be incredibly difficult. Behind those choices we will see doubt and discussion before a decision is made.
Matthew 1:18-24: “This is how Jesus the Messiah was born. His mother, Mary, was engaged to be married to Joseph. But before the marriage took place, while she was still a virgin, she became pregnant through the power of the Holy Spirit. Joseph, to whom she was engaged, was a righteous man and did not want to disgrace her publicly, so he decided to break the engagement quietly. As he considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream. “Joseph, son of David,” the angel said, “do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife. For the child within her was conceived by the Holy Spirit. And she will have a son, and you are to name him Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.” All of this occurred to fulfill the Lord’s message through his prophet: “Look! The virgin will conceive a child! She will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel, which means ‘God is with us.’” When Joseph woke up, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded and took Mary as his wife.”
Doubt
Doubt is behind almost every decision that we will make in life. Doubt can be manifested as fear, anger, anxiety, and concern. In doubt, we struggle to build trust and faith in decisions, as well as the people around those decisions. Joseph was at an impasse in that he had to make a choice whether to believe Mary or disregard her word and move on from their engagement.
Joseph was not only doubting the information that Mary provided him, but also was doubting that the information was from God. His doubt was tied to the cultural norms of the day in that marriage was to be pure and holy. Joseph had to have an array of emotions flooding his mind at this moment. If I was doing a sermon, I would spend more time here.
Still, he was like many when we heard the message of Jesus. We question the actions of the person telling us of Jesus, we doubt their validity, and we may even feel they are hypocrites. Doubt is a natural part of choosing to listen to the message that Jesus is who He has been said to be for humanity.
Discussion
Typically, there are two people we have discussions with in regards to accepting Jesus as the Son of God. The first is a person. For Joseph, it was Mary, his fiancée. For others, it may be a parent, sibling, friend, or pastor. Nonetheless, the person is pointing to God. How many times do we feel like this person is using God for their own benefit, maybe even to justify sins? This will always put the focus more on that person than God or ourselves.
The second person we will have a conversation with is the Holy Spirit. The Word of God tells us that no one comes to the Father without the prompting of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit’s role is to always point people to the teachings of Christ, which effectively means pointing to God. Sadly, many people will never get to this conversation because the first conversation kills any opportunity for an individual to be in a place of receptiveness of hearing what the Holy Spirit wants to tell that person. With Joseph, his willingness to hear the Holy Spirit was greater than the hurt and frustration that Mary brought into their situation.
Decision
Ultimately for every person a decision has to be made. Joseph made the decision that God’s plan and design was greater than the potential faults and dishonor that Mary brought into their relationship. It is amazing how the Holy Spirit can mend and restore hurt and division in our earthly relationships. The whole purpose behind this story is not only to recognize the prophecy that Jesus will be born into this very situation, but also that Jesus fixes every relationship when we let the Holy Spirit perform His role in reconciliation. The decision can be simple when we listen more so to the prompting of the Holy Spirit than the division and hurt of human interaction.
My prayer for you today is that you will be like Joseph and listen to the Holy Spirit. People are messy and our prior interactions with humanity can lead us to distrust even the people we are closest to in this life. I encourage you today to not let the potential hurt and discouragement of human interaction deter you from having a positive interaction with Jesus. Listen to the Holy Spirit and see His prompting to accept Jesus.
Blessings and Merry Christmas!
Nick Engleman
As always, I am available for any questions or discussion you may have about this devotional or Jesus today. My contact information is nengleman902@gmail.com or 417-808-1049.
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