Each day, we are faced with choices. One of the hardest lessons I had to learn as a teenager (and truth be told, am still learning today), is that, often, our choices today impact our tomorrow. In this advent season, our attention turns to the Christmas story — at least, mine does. It is a sobering thought — that God, infinite, boundless God, stepped down to our finite and bound world to become the very salvation that would reconcile us back to him. 

Yet. . .it all hinged on the choices of 2 ordinary people. Once Mary acquiesced to the will of God, it was up to Joseph to help bring this plan to fruition. Under Jewish law, Joseph was well within his right to have the pregnant Mary put to death. The story would’ve ended right there. No Jesus. No salvation. Nothing. End of story. Joseph was a righteous man, an upstanding Jewish citizen, so no one would’ve blamed him. It would’ve made sense. But that’s not how the story ends. 

Joseph chose instead (at first, anyway) to quietly divorce her. No harm, no foul. . .or something like that. But that’s not how the story ends. 

God told Joseph to marry her. To raise the babe within her as his own. And Joseph obeyed. Joseph obeyed God when all signs pointed to obeying the religious law of the day. It didn’t make sense to do what Joseph did. 

It’s so easy sometimes to choose what makes sense. (Sometimes that really is the best choice). But what if what God wants for you sits just outside of logic? What if you’re supposed to choose what doesn’t make sense? 

 

That’s my takeaway from a sermon I heard this morning (Thanks, FBC McKinney!). Seemingly simple, everyday choices can affect much more than our present. Choose wisely.