"Joseph planned to divorce her," Matthew 1:19.
They had to get married. (Remember that old phrase? It implied she, an unmarried woman, got pregnant and that he, the responsible man, must marry her so that their child would have full parental protections. Plus, he made her an honest woman, and, she made him a righteous man.) What a mess! Unmarried mother-to-be. Jilted lover. Troubled nights. Divorce plans. As they wander, the baby finally comes, but they've got no home. And then, in the middle of the night, in their king's wholesale slaughter of little boys, they run for their lives. Strangers in a foreign land. Unsettled. End up unknowns in a backwater town with a passel of kids. Yes. Welcome to our world, baby Jesus! A violent, dangerous, messy one. And God planned to make out these broken humans a peaceable kingdom fit for the heavens.
We visit with a brother or sister today, overjoyed, amazed at God's plan for redemption. And, together, we kneel, humbly thankful for grace in time of our deep need.
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