Sorry it's been a while- but holy moly! I had a wonderful study today!! I decided that throughout this wonderful month of December, I'm going to read the story of Christ's life- not just his birth, but what he accomplished and who He became here in mortality.
I started off with the first chapter of Matthew. We are told that Joseph, a fine young man, is engaged to none other than the fantasmagorical Mary. But wait. Joseph finds out she's preggers. Well shoot. Honestly that would come as quite a shock to anyone. But what really impressed me as I read this account is the trust that they were both able to develop. Joseph's ability to trust Mary is incredible. She told him that she was pregnant and it had been through God, and instead of immediately rejecting her and allowing her to suffer the intense penalty at that time, he tried to do all he could to protect her. Joseph easily could have abandoned her completely, he could have chosen to believe she was lying- I mean she doesn't have much evidence to back her up at this point- but ends up deciding to really think of all the options with the information he had:
"But while he thought on these things, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared unto him in a dream, saying, Joseph, thou son of David, fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife: for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Ghost. And she shall bring forth a son and thou shalt call his name Jesus: for he shall save his people from their sins....
...Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us"
Joseph was able to receive personal revelation straight from God in regards to how he should move forward in his relationship with Mary. He was able to find out for himself, through the angel, that she had been telling him the truth. What an amazing experience! And just thinking about what was going on over in Mary's part of the story- she had been told by an angel she'd give birth to the son of God. That would be terrifying to not know who would believe you- family, friends, and especially her future husband, who, let's be honest, probably didn't know her all that well at this point. But I love that Mary's job wasn't to convince Joseph that she was telling the truth- all she needed to do was tell him what had happened, and after that God was able to confirm what she had said.
And that's something I need to be better at in all of my relationships- family, friends, etc.-trusting as I speak truth and put God first, He will provide the rest. in Because Joseph trusted Mary initially, and was looking what direction to take, he was able to receive a fuller knowledge of his situation and move forward in a positive direction. And because of Mary's trust in God, she was able to bravely tell Joseph the truth, even though the odds of him believing her were extremely slim. So after all the feels and the shares, both are able to receive a specific answer from God independently of one another, which allowed them to grow closer together as their relationship progressed.
I am so grateful for a loving Heavenly Father that knows the hearts of each of his children. I am grateful that He lets us figure things out one step at a time- and I am grateful that He is always willing to let us see the bigger picture when we are ready to progress. I know that one of the most important things we can focus on while we are here is the relationships we develop with our family, friends, and others we meet along the way. And I am learning as we take time to establish and enrich our own relationship with God, I definitely know we will have a greater ability to trust, love, and understand those around us. I know it's not always going to be perfect. I know not everything always goes the way we want it to- sometimes life downright stinks. A lot. But I know I can trust in God and it will all work out. I know He has done so much for me, and I am grateful for the patience, love, and understanding He shows me on a daily basis. I am so excited to learn more about Him and about Christ over this next month! I love you so much and I hope you have a most excellent week!
Much love,
Emmers
Holy cow, what a great study! I have never thought of that story like that before, but it is so true. A relationship where two people (whether they are friends, family, married, whatever) put God first and go directly to Him for answers is so much stronger. I want to be able to be like Mary and tell the truth about what I had received even when I don't know what will happen (wow, as I wrote that I realized that God tested me in this area very recently...holy cow...and I acted in faith but I also freaked out so there is a lot of room for improvement there ha ha). And I want to have the strength of Joseph to be able to be open enough to God, even in a probably very emotionally intense situation (can you imagine all of the fears that Joseph had sloshing around in his head?), and trust Him enough to receive His answers. When two people are like that in a relationship, it is so strong. I feel like being like them is such a good personal goal. And if we work on ourselves like that, and the other person works on themselves like that, what a powerful relationship that would be! I wish my family members could be at that point, but I have hope that eventually they will get there. But I'm grateful for you in my life. I learn from you all the time. Thanks for sharing this cool study. Love you!
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