Submitted into Evidence for Us

~~~ Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary ~~~

~~~ Micah 5:1-4A or Romans 8:28-30 ~~~ Psalm 13 ~~~
~~~Matthew 1:1-16, 18-23 ~~~

Behold, the virgin shall be with child and bear a son,
and they shall name him Emmanuel,
which means “God is with us.”

Mathew begins his Gospel with
the genealogy of both Mary and Joseph.
The prophets proclaimed that the Messiah would
come from the house of David.
The lengthy descendant list is the written
 confirmation of the prophecy message.
Jesus does indeed come from the house of David.
Now we can get on with the important business
 of the salvation of human kind.

Once the lineage is officially recorded
 there will be no doubt...no questions.
Jesus is indeed a descendant from the proper household.

Even today royal families all over the world record
and preserve their descendant line.
The site Ancestry dot com prides themselves in having access
 to the lineage of more people than any other site.
They claim to be the world's largest online family history resource.
Matthew had access to no such resource
he had to rely on the oral history.

Having had some experience in doing such research
for my own family, it can be very frustrating and time consuming.

 ...all things work for good for those who love God,

who are called according to his purpose. 

The fact that Mary and Joseph came from the house of David
did not make their personal situations any less unusual.

Mary became pregnant while she remained a virgin...
She and Joseph had only promised to marry.
The casual observer of their situation would not have given
 them much hope for a good marriage.

That is mostly because we think like short sighted humans.
It is impossible for us to think like God.
We cannot see how all things work for good,
when it comes to ourselves or to others.

For this to be true in your life
you must first love God
secondly we must be called according
 to God's purpose.

If you are acting in defiance or against God's will for your
life then things may not turn out for the good.

Those who go about spreading evil and hatred cannot expect
their actions to turn out for the good.

God does not respond to our spoiled child attitude.
God does not give in to our self centered ways.
God promises that if you are doing good in your life
even those things which do not appear to be good really are good.

Joseph and especially Mary faced a situation that
even today would not be seen as a good. 

Pregnancy out of wedlock
is a challenge for all persons involved.

God chose for Mary to remain a virgin.
God chose for this virgin to bear and give birth to a son...
not just any child, but the messiah.
God chose Joseph to stand with her...to protect her
and yes to love her. I believe that Joseph did love Mary.

God will go to extreme circumstances
 to use his people for his good purpose.

I invite you to question God's purpose
 the next time you
 find yourself in a situation
 that does not seem to be good.

Is this sliver of time to become
 a significant part of something bigger?

Sometimes God does reveal his purpose for situations in our life.
but often he does not.
What are we to do? Trust in him. Wait on him.
Be ready to accept never knowing his purpose.

God wants to make all things good

in your life.
He will give you the grace and blessings
 not to question his decisions for your life.

While Mary and Joseph
 had their doubts they did walk the path God created for them.

You too can walk the path God lays out before you.
Are you willing? Do you trust him enough?
Today's food for thought.
~~~Peace~~~