Joseph probably could have had quite a pleasant life. His plan was to get married to Mary, have
children, work in his carpenter's shop and be the model of a family man for others to see. They
may not have been rich, but they would have had a pleasant, comfortable and stable life. But
Joseph kept hearing from God.
Firstly he had to get married to a pregnant woman, who was pregnant with a child that was not
his. The shame and the wagging tongues would have followed him, and of course no one would
have believed him when he said that it was God's child.
Then, after settling in Bethlehem, where the gossip was less, he suddenly had to get up in the
middle of the night to flee to Egypt. Any business aspirations were left behind in the rush to exit
Bethlehem before Herod killed their new baby.
Joseph couldn't even settle in Egypt. After another short period of time God told Joseph to move
back into Israel and then go and live in the slums in Nazareth. No, Joseph was never going to get
ahead now, and all because he listened to the Lord.
The point is this: When God spoke, Joseph obeyed. No matter what the consequences, Joseph
obeyed God first of all. It is often hard to do, but it is important that we follow the example of
Joseph and obey God in small things and in the big things, whatever he tells us to do.
With love in our Lord
