This year, will you be traveling for Christmas?
Many years ago, there was a decree requiring the head of each family to register. Joseph & Mary chose to journey together to Bethlehem even though Mary was not required to make the journey. They would have been well aware of the soon to come birth.
4 Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and lineage of David, 5 to be registered with Mary, his betrothed wife, who was with child. Luke 2: 4 (NKJV)
Did Joseph protect Mary by bringing her along? Did he refuse to leave her behind because she would have been an outcast due to her pregnancy? Even her parents most likely would have trouble accepting the story of miraculous conception. She would have been the talk of the town. Perhaps he insisted she come along so he could be present when she go into labor. We can only speculate since Scripture does not give us these specific details. We do know they chose to journey together! They were committed to living out God’s calling on their lives together!
We too must follow the example of Joseph and Mary and choose to journey together. Dear Christian friends, we need one another! God has given us one another! If we belong to Christ, we belong to one another. It is not enough just to attend church. We must find a way to connect with a small group of believers so we may live out God’s purpose on our lives together.
One of my goals this next year is to get better connected! How about you? Are you connected? Do you attend a small group? Let’s make a commitment right now to prayerfully search for a place to connect with other Christians. We are not meant to journey alone!
Copyright©2017, Gloria Stucky
EDITED – Originally written for Immanuel Baptist Church 2016
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