I found this section in Max Lucado's great book, "In the Grip of Grace", and had to share it-
“Can anything make me stop loving you?” God asks. “Watch me speak your language, sleep on your earth, and feel your hurts. Behold the maker of sight and sound as he sneezes, coughs, and blows his nose. You wonder if I understand how you feel? Look into the dancing eyes of the kid in Nazareth; that’s God walking to school. Ponder the toddler at Mary’s table; that’s God spilling his milk.
“You wonder how long my love will last? Find your answer on a splintered cross, on a craggy hill. That’s me you see up there, your maker, your God, nail-stabbed and bleeding. Covered in spit and sin-soaked.
“That’s your sin I’m feeling. That’s your death I’m dying. That’s your resurrection I’m living. That’s how much I love you.”
Wow. I'm stunned into worshipful silence.
I was thinking today about the tremendous, life-changing experience the birth of Christ was to His earthly dad, Joseph. Here he is, a simple construction worker in Nazareth, getting ready for his upcoming marriage to his bride-to-be, Mary. Nothing extraordinary about him- just a regular, working class guy. Then he finds out his fiancé is pregnant, obviously NOT by him! I can’t imagine the horror, shock, anger, fear, and sorrow he must have felt. But being a good guy, he was just planning to break everything off quietly, try to pick up the pieces and get on with his life- until the night an angel came to him, with some incredible news…
I found that, in the book of Matthew, an angel spoke to Joseph a total of 4 times, from the first revelation that Mary was carrying the Messiah, to the final word that it was safe to go back home from Egypt. No matter what his circumstances looked like, no matter what anyone might have thought, no matter how crazy it all seemed- Joseph trusted and followed God, and reaped the benefits of helping raise up God in human flesh.
Imagine- those rough, calloused hands cradling Divinity; those worn-down fingernails tickling holy infant toes and nose; those thick arms playfully wrestling with the toddler God; stopping the cart, because his 10-year old son, who also happens to be the Lord of all the universe, wants to ride to the supply store with him. It must have been amazing almost every day to think that, “this cute little kid running around my house is the Lord God Almighty in human skin. And I’m teaching Him to fish and play ball and swing a hammer without smashing His fingers.”
We don’t hear anymore about Joseph after Jesus turned 12. All we know about him we find in the first few chapters of Matthew and Luke. But I know one thing- he was a man blessed by God, no doubt. And I look forward to meeting him someday, and hearing his stories about being “dad” to the Son of God. I’m sure he has some incredible stories to tell…
The Word became flesh, and made His dwelling among us. John 1:14