What we Can Learn from Joseph's Obedience

Joseph was a righteous man, according to God's word and description of him in Matthew 1. While we don't read much about his parenting style or his daily involvement in Jesus' childhood, what we do learn about him gives reason to look + learn from him.

Joseph hears from God and obeys.

But here's the thing about Joseph's obedience, and what is true about our own obedience -- it is never just for today. What God tells us to do has tangible, visible impacts for today AND for eternity. Our obedience for today is always tied to a bigger picture. This shouldn't surprise us when we think about it, because our TODAY is always tied to a bigger picture of our life.

Our decisions today...

Our successes today..

Our failures today...

Our reactions today...

...all play a part in the bigger story of our life.

If we begin a new habit or routine today (healthy or unhealthy), it will have an impact on our lives next month, later this year and for years to come.

There's no real way to know if Joseph understood the significance of his obedience, but the first two chapters of Matthew show us the significance of them. Perhaps we need this reminder -- the result of our obedience may never dawn on us this side of Heaven, but it will impact the lives of the people who come after us.

The first example of Joseph's obedience came after Mary had conceived Jesus by the Holy Spirit. Joseph -- a righteous man, according to the Scriptures -- had planned to divorce her quietly but the Holy Spirit stepped in and showed Joseph the bigger picture. The baby Mary was carrying wasn't just a baby, He was the Messiah, the Savior of the World. Joseph's actions were vital to the bigger story -- they had eternal significance. But that didn't mean Joseph's today didn't matter. God cares about our todays as much as He cares about the bigger story. For Joseph, being obedient to stay with Mary and raise Jesus as his son had massive impacts on his daily life. He would be ridiculed. He would be misunderstood. He would be raising the God-man. He would be responsible for teaching while also learning from his own son. He would be disciplining his son while also becoming a disciple of his son. He would be preparing his son for the 'real world' when the sins of that same world would be placed on his son's shoulders to bear. He would raise his son to know and honor God -- and yet his son was the embodiment of that same God.

And yet Joseph was obedient. He stayed with Mary with honor and respect, humbly stepping into a role for which he was unqualified and unprepared.

Joseph's obedience set the path for a series of significant steps of obedience moving forward. He stayed with Mary, then He fled to Egypt to keep his family safe. A few years later, He set out to take his family to Israel but in remaining in step with the Father, He made shifts and sidesteps and settled in Nazareth.

Even without understanding all the underlying meanings or even the basic timelines or details, we can be sure that obedience is the right answer. When we hear from the Lord, may we follow Joseph's example and simply obey. When the Lord speaks, we should listen and then obey. Here is what we can learn from Joseph's obedience:

Joseph obeyed for the NOW.

For Him, the now included Mary's honor and the nitty gritty of fathering a son he did not conceive. When he took the family to Egypt, it was for their safety, the actual protection of His family's life. When he left for Israel, it was initially rooted in getting his family to the right place and in remaining in step with God, it evolved into settling his family into a long-term home. Each step of obedience had a significant impact on their todays. Travel plans, saying goodbyes, adjusting, stress, readjusting, etc. His obedience led to a series of really hard todays, but they would make the future todays better, safer, more settled.

Joseph also obeyed for the ETERNAL.

The angels always explained the bigger picture of what Joseph was being called to do. The eternal included understanding Mary was carrying the Messiah, the Savior of the world. The eternal included getting Jesus into Egypt -- then into Nazareth -- to fulfill the prophecies. Was Joseph putting the pieces of the puzzle together in his mind? Maybe -- he was a Jew who had been taught the scriptures. Perhaps He began seeing the connections on his own. Perhaps God graciously allowed him to see it all connect. Perhaps he did not. Regardless, Joseph's obedience had eternal significance each time. And ours does too.

Obeying for today will always have risk, but it may not always be hard. Obeying today for the bigger picture will be harder.

Obeying with eternity in mind will always require the guts to obey today. Eternal obedience is counter-cultural. It will be ridiculed. It will not be understood by people around you. It may not even be understood by you.

We can find the confidence to obey in this truth -- we have heard from the God we know. Knowing God grows confidence in His voice. And when we hear it, we can bank on it.

As we walk in obedience, we must keep listening.

Joseph heard God tell him to go to Israel, yet along the way those steps were reordered. Had Joseph stopped listening or not remained in step with the Lord, he might have missed it. God didn't trick Joseph, He's not that kind of God. We may never know why God pointed to Israel first and then redirected to Galilee. We may also never know why God points to one job and then redirects us to another. Or why He gives us a dream that only He can fulfill and yet we haven't seen it come true yet. He's not tricking us, that I do know. And if we are in step with Him -- in His word, in continuous prayer, seeking His presence and sitting it in -- we will hear whatever is next. And then we must obey.