Matthew 1:22-25
Do we ever experience a Joseph moment? In an earthly sense, Joseph must have been both confused and startled, if not devastated, to learn that Mary was with child. How could this be explained in human terms? Many of us tend to think about what a situation means in personal terms. However, when we consider what God intends for us, then it becomes clear. The angel came to Joseph—just as the Holy Spirit can come to those who seek God’s will in a time of uncertainty, which is all the time, and endowed him with the gift of love—to set aside selfishness through faith and to selflessly serve others.
By trusting and obeying God’s will, Joseph ushered in a divine love for all mankind, through his love for Mary. Jesus was born of a virgin and came into this world to save all humanity. How much more love can there be than that? How much more selfless can someone be than to be born into a world full of sin, to live and to teach His word, and then to die for those very sins that we may live? This is agape love that is beyond human understanding. This is the love that the angel bestowed upon and within Joseph—it cannot be explained in any other way.
So as followers of Christ, as we believe, trust, and obey, we can look upon that “Angel’s Candle,” the light of love that fell upon Joseph in his slumber at a moment of confusion and uncertainty, and find comfort in knowing God loves us beyond our understanding. He is asking us, commanding us, to express our love for others by selflessly serving them in His name. Under the most humbling of earthly conditions and circumstances, that is what Joseph chose to do, which led to one of the most important moments of all time, the birth of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.
What is Jesus asking us to do in our moments of service and love toward others? As Christians, when we help and serve someone else, we tend to feel good inside. When we expect nothing in return because we are about our Father’s work, we feel good inside. We have an awesome responsibility to be beacons of light (an angel’s light, if you will) for others to know Christ in a very meaningful way. It will be the most important moment in their lives as well as ours.
