Matthew 2 - Joseph

13 When they had gone, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream. "Get up," he said, "take the child and his mother and escape to Egypt. Stay there until I tell you, for Herod is going to search for the child to kill him." 14 So he got up, took the child and his mother during the night and left for Egypt, 15 where he stayed until the death of Herod.

19 After Herod died, an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt 20and said, "Get up, take the child and his mother and go to the land of Israel, for those who were trying to take the child's life are dead."
21 So he got up, took the child and his mother and went to the land of Israel. 22But when he heard that Archelaus was reigning in Judea in place of his father Herod, he was afraid to go there. Having been warned in a dream, he withdrew to the district of Galilee, 23and he went and lived in a town called Nazareth. So was fulfilled what was said through the prophets: "He will be called a Nazarene."

I've been thinking lately that it's amazing where our kids take us. I mean, there are many place I never would have been had they not been born. The delivery room of a hospital for one! I guess that's not the most positive place but three very positive outcomes resulted from each visit. Actually I was thinking more of other places like the inside of a hockey dressing room, the room where the guy makes arm casts, the place where physiotherapy happens, the school gym for Christmas concerts, speech arts finals and science fairs! The waiting room for piano exams, the banquet hall for graduation, the track, and even the store for electronics!

I was thinking about all this - of being a parent and of where children take us - because in this chapter it seems because of Joseph's willingness to be Jesus' father he ended up travelling all over the place. His travel destinations were very different from my anecdotal places. His were a result of necessity and safety.

It's amazing to me how often Joseph was directed by angels, and how quickly he obeyed them. Throughout this week I must admit that I've wished an angel could have told me where to take our children - the direction they need to go. Somehow an angelic direction seems so clear and easy. (though this week on a radio program I was reminded that every time someone has an angelic encounter their first response is fear, and the angels first words are, "Do not be afraid!") Parenting isn't always clear or easy is it? Life doesn't always give us an obvious direction.

Joseph was given very clear direction, and these angelic, God driven instructions have reminded me of a few things.

1. God provided Jesus with an earthly father so that He would be protected and cared for. God provides for us - for what we need here on earth, with the parents we have or if we haven't been blessed with good parents (I have!) with others who come alongside to give us the nurture and care we need.

2. God provided Joseph with the tools he needed to be the father Jesus needed. God is our provider - my provider as parent, as daughter, as wife. In the role you find yourself.

God provides. Again this theme comes through.

I'm reminded too that only God can see the future - though so often I wish I could. God did know the future and told Joseph to move quickly towards Egypt to escape Herod's masacre. He had an even greater perspective in that He knew long before Jesus was even born that He would grow up in Nazareth. God knows our future - the immediate and the distant. And because He knows we can trust Him to provide all that we need for this life and the next.

His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness.

2 Peter 1:3