Bible scholars tell us Joseph was necessary to establish the worldly lineage of David for the baby Jesus and to provide social cover for Mary, who was pregnant without an earthly husband. All obviously true.
But perhaps God had a better reason for the arrangement.
Maybe Mary could have gone through it all on her own. After all, she was blessed among women. I am sure God would have given her all the assistance she needed. In fact He did. A great part of that help was in the form of Joseph. Sometimes there is no substitute for living, breathing, flesh and blood with which to share life. Christmas itself is a celebration of the Word becoming flesh.
How could Mary have handled the secret alone? Not just the scandalous secret that the world might have assumed, but the secret of the gift of love God was delivering through her? What would her life have been without someone to share the unbelievable dreams, the angels, the incredible secret, the responsibility, the unspeakable joy and pain?
And then of course there were the more normal things: family, finances, children, church. All were probably made a bit more interesting with the Son of God as your son.
If you watch a bad movie by yourself, it's just a bad movie. But with the right person who knows you best, a bad movie can become hilarious. A long road trip alone can seem like it will never end. But with the right person it can be a vacation.
Life is like that. You know that old saying, meant to be an insult that starts out, "you think you are God's gift to . . ."
Well maybe you really are.
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