On the eve of Christmas 2009, I thank you for the privilege of another year of sharing with you these thoughts and comments about God’s Word and the blessing of its practical application to your everyday life. I pray that the time we have shared together these mornings has refreshed your spirit and nurtured your heart.
A Blessed and Joyous Christmas! Allen Randolph, Trinity Church, San Antonio, TX
“Joseph, Mary’s husband, being a just man.” Matthew 1:19 NKJV
“Character and conduct are matters of first importance to God.”
My thoughts today are about “putting God first.”
Joseph may often seem in the shadows of the Christmas drama. According to our view, the spotlight is on Mary, with the major supporting characters appearing to be the angels, shepherds and kings. But Joseph is not a bit player; he is a main character. It is my opinion that Joseph was chosen by God as carefully as was Mary, and today’s verse tells you why – “Joseph was a just, or righteous, man.”
Joseph could protect his name, or provide a home – for Mary and this miracle child. He could not both! Mary would need a just man to accept and protect her – to stand firmly between her and a disbelieving society of family and friends; Jesus would need a just father to model the Heavenly Father for a growing boy. God chose a just man.
Isn’t the character quality interesting that God valued first? There are many things that could have ranked high on God’s list of desirable qualities, like well born, powerful or successful. God knows what to look for when He has something important to be done; He looks for a man or woman who consistently puts God first. Character and conduct are matters of first importance.
My Dad often “preached” to me this simple rule, “first things first.” When he would ask me to do something as a teen, I would usually have something else that I wanted to do first, with every intention to do what he had asked, as time and circumstance then allowed. Care to guess how that worked out for me? Not so well. I never convinced my Dad that was a proper response or a wise strategy, and as an adult I have learned why. Whatever you choose to put first is what you consider to be first. Priority determines importance.
Jesus understood and lived this elementary truth by His example, “I always do those things that please Him (the Father).” John 8:29 NKJV. Jesus counted the Father and His will to be of first importance so that’s what He chose to always put first. The Bible is clear about where you find satisfaction and sufficiency, “The Father will give you all you need from day to day, if you live for Him and make the Kingdom of God your primary concern.” Matthew 6:33 NLT. What is your primary concern in everyday life?
This Christmas, our world needs just men just like Joseph, and more women more like Mary – who choose God’s will to be lived out through them. Make no mistake; doing God’s will is not always easy, if ever. Both Joseph and Mary willingly embraced God’s plans at the personal cost of sacrificing their own plans.
Know this; your greatest future is not to be found in the success of all of your plans and endeavors. Your true future will be found in your life being squarely submitted in the heart of God’s will. Christmas – the celebration of the Savior’s birth – seems the perfect moment for an honest inventory of your life as it relates practically to this central issue of “first things first.”
My prayer for you today is: do God’s will first and foremost and all else falls into place.