Joseph, Planning and God's Will

I'll propose. She'll say, "yes!" Then, I'll head back to my parents' house to add on some rooms for our own home. She'll prepare whatever she needs to prepare to be my wife. We'll be married. I'll continue my carpentry business here in town. She'll be a great little Homemaker and hopefully SAHM soon. Perfect! I've got it all worked out. 


{Okay, I know Joseph probably didn't think exactly like that, but I'm sure he had some kind of plan in mind. Scripture says he was a just man who "considered" things, so I'm sure he was prudent and thoughtful in his decisions. Getting married is a pretty big decision.}


Joseph has his plan all thought-out, and then: "...before they came together she was found to be with child..." 


{Oh dear. I'm not a historian, but I'm sure that was frowned-upon in his culture, but after a night of divine visitation, he decides to keep Mary and the growing baby.}


All right. So, the girl I'm about to marry is pregnant. Not only is she pregnant, but she's carrying the Messiah, the Savior we've been anticipating for thousands of years, the Son of God! No pressure. I can handle this...I need to go chop something...


{If I had been Joseph, these would have been my thoughts: I can't believe you'd put all this on us! We can't handle something this! Why have you done this? Everything was going fine, and now, what are we suppose to do?! Still, God isn't done. Joseph's plans are crumbling to pieces, and God is still pounding into them.}

"In those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be registered. This was the first registration when Quirinius was governor of Syria. And all went to be registered, each to his own town. And Joseph also went up from Galilee, from the town of Nazareth, to Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and lineage of David, to be registered with Mary, his betrothed, who was with child."


{My first thought when I read this was, "Seriously, Lord?!" Then I wondered if Joseph complained or got frustrated with this new situation. Not only was he about to marry a pregnant girl and be the adoptive parent of God's Son, he's also go to pack up and journey 70 miles on foot with a super-pregnant fiancé sitting on a donkey.}
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We don't know for certain what Joseph was thinking and feeling through all of this, but we do know a few things:

• He was a just man. (Matt. 1:19)
• He wasn't hasty in decision-making. (Matt. 1:20)
• He believed Gabriel's message. (Matt. 1:24)
• He obeyed the message. (Matt. 1:24)

May Joseph be an example to God's children. Christians, we must be thoughtful and patient in making decisions, and when God says to do something, we must obey. 

No matter how random and arbitrary or terrifying and humiliating God's will may be, He is a good and loving Father. He only calls us to what is most glorifying to Him. Strangely enough, what glorifies Him is always good for us, whether we believe it or not.

This post was inspired by today's Advent reading, Luke 2:1-7. This and other readings are chronicled here. 

Judas' Change of Mind

Last week, two ladies from a local religious cult came by to chat for a moment and invite us to a conference. They were very kind, and we talked for a few minutes. I've learned that these encounters are usually short and the visiting party rarely wants to actually have a conversation. (Perhaps, they're nervous. I know I would be.) For the next two paragraphs, I've given these ladies labels: Talker and Quiet One.


The strangest thing about the encounter was Talker's great interest in Judas Iscariot. She spoke about the Last Supper and how Judas wasn't there. I kindly said, "Actually. Judas was there. He was with them." (I don't know how long during the meal he was there, but he was there.) The other lady raised her eyebrows. Either, she was surprised that I said anything or surprised to hear he was there. 

Talker continued about how Judas wasn't there and was the only one of the Disciples who didn't participate in the Lord's Supper. Okay. Fair enough. My thought later, was, Why was that so important? Why, when there are many, many other much more eternally significant things to discuss, did she want to convince me that Judas wasn't at the Last Supper? I still don't know.


After that encounter I kept thinking about Judas Iscariot. 


This week was Holy Week, so I read through the last days of Jesus' life, as recorded in the Gospels. I read from The Last Supper to the Resurrection. Judas' betrayal is in all four narratives, but his aft-change-of-mind isn't. It's only in Matthew, and my heart broke reading it Monday. (I'm always amazed how God's Word pierces my soul differently, even though It never changes.)

"Then when Judas, his betrayer, saw that Jesus was condemned, he changed his mind and brought back the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and the elders, saying, 'I have sinned by betraying innocent blood.' [The chief priests and elders] said, 'What is that to us? See to it yourself.' And throwing down the pieces of silver into the temple, he departed, and he went and hanged himself. But the chief priests, taking the pieces of silver, said, 'It is not lawful to put them into the treasury, since it is blood money.' So they took counsel and bought with them the potter's field as a burial place for strangers." (Matthew 27:3-7) 


One aspect made my heart hurt, and another made my blood boil.


1. When he saw what he'd caused, he changed his mind and took the money back. 
I think of lyrics from the song Fall Back by Lecrae: "He will lead ya, leach ya, leave ya." Satan tempts us, leads us to the sin, sucks the life from us through the sin and then leaves us alone and emptier than before. After satan led to Judas sin, he then left him to wallow in what he'd done--all the guilt, self-pity, anger and all the other emotions that destroy us.


2. The chief priests respond with disdain and self-righteousness.
My heart burned with indignation when I read the priests' response to Judas: "What is that to us? See to it yourself." Judas comes, possibly in true repentance, to the only people he's convinced can justify him before God, and they do nothing. Not only do they do nothing, but they're blind to their intricate part in his sin. (Even now, my heart burns.) Judas is left to do the only thing he knows to do with his sin, destroy it and himself.

After a week in the Gospels and contemplating Judas Iscariot's heart, I still don't know if he repented. Was it godly sorrow? Was it worldly? Did it lead to true repentance or did Judas grieve like Esau? I don't know. I pray it led to repentance, and his story draws me to contemplate my many sins this Sabbath. 


Believers, our lives must be constant repentance, lest our hearts become hard. 


All this sounds so sad, but today is the anniversary of the Longest Day in History, at least for Jesus' friends and disciples, but tomorrow's Sunday. Just thinking about it makes me smile.