| Man of the Millennia - article by Joel Hempel
Yes, I am talking about Joseph! If Mary is humanity’s heroine, Joseph is a superhero, and the kind of man most of us guys would like to be. What’s the most odds-against-you-succeeding undertaking you have ever had to endure? Multiply that by a thousand, and you will be in Joseph’s shoes. Joseph doesn’t get nearly the recognition as his beloved betrothed, but he is no less needed in the story of salvation. He never speaks a word that the biblical writers thought to record, but you don’t have to say much to make a statement. What do you want in a hero when you go to the movies? Courage? Check! Honor? Check! Integrity? Check! Faithfulness? Check! Physical strength? Check! Good looks? Probably not!* As an up-and-coming tradesman, he had a promising career in carpentry and masonry. With God having brought Mary into his life, his future was set – NOT! Angel: Joseph, Mary is pregnant, not by another man but by God himself. Trust what I am saying to you. Trust God! The way Scripture reads, Joseph immediately trusted. But I imagine he wrestled with what the angel told him. Can I trust what I just dreamt? God impregnating my wife? Such a notion is inconceivable, even for the most devout Christian – except for the one the Holy Spirit convicts. Joseph was convicted! And from that day on, his life was one opportunity after the other to serve God faithfully: - There’s no room in the Inn, so find a safe place for your betrothed to give birth.
- Don’t go back home. A crazed king is out to kill your son.
- You can’t be intimate with your wife until after she bears your firstborn son.
- I’m sorry, Joseph, but you will have to keep moving. Flee to Egypt.
- Herod is dead, but his enthroned son cannot be trusted. Hide out in Nazareth.
- Raising Jesus will be complicated. But God is with you.
Joseph is our mentor. His life of trust and service to God’s will can be our guide. What opportunities for Christian service has God given to you? I can’t think of one God-given opportunity that is not also a challenge. For example, marriage, raising a family, taking on a job, reconciling a strained relationship, loving someone difficult to love, overcoming an addiction, leaving what is familiar when you are not ready, embracing a body or mind that is breaking down, etc. What does the life of Joseph-the-Mentor have to say to us? You can trust God. Ask him for help. The Spirit will give you the courage and strength to claim the opportunity and meet the challenge. Always hope in the Lord! You will be blessed with peace and joy. *Isaiah 53:1-3 | 
