Joseph, the Unsung Christmas Hero
Wednesday, December 10, 2025
“Obedience is required at the time God gives you an instruction.” – Os Hillman
Aside from the Christ Child, who is your favorite Christmas character?
Is it the Virgin Mary, Gabriel or one of the other angels, the shepherds, or maybe the wise men? Well, my personal favorite is the unsung hero of the Christmas story, Joseph.
Here he is, told that his betrothed wife is pregnant, and he knows very well that he isn’t the father. And yet, being a kind and just man who genuinely loves Mary, he decides to divorce her privately to save her the embarrassment and shame… and a potential stoning.
However, an angel appears to Joseph in a dream and assures him that the baby that Mary is carrying was conceived by the Holy Spirit and so, when he wakes up, he goes ahead and marries her. What a guy!
Then, once Jesus is born, Joseph is warned by an angel in another dream that King Herod is trying to kill the Christ Child. The angel commands Joseph to take his family and flee to Egypt and as soon as he arises, that is exactly what he does.
Joseph has a third dream a few years later in which an angel tells him that Herod is dead and it is safe to return to Israel. Guess what? Joseph obeys immediately for the third time, settling in Nazareth, where he sets up shop as a carpenter.
Three dreams, three visitations by angels, and three orders from God. Most importantly, all three times, Joseph obeyed instantaneously.
Jesus is the Messiah and Mary “found favor with God” (Luke 1:30) and was truly “blessed among women” (Luke 1:42). But Joseph will always have a special place in my heart because he obeyed God’s every command, even when it meant that he would be the source of endless gossip and have to uproot his family several times.
My friend, what is God calling YOU to do today? Are you listening… and are you obeying? And if so, are you obeying instantaneously like Joseph?
“But Samuel declared: ‘Does the LORD delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as much as in obedience to His voice? Behold, obedience is better than sacrifice, and attentiveness is better than the fat of rams.’” I Samuel 15:22 (BSB)
- Rev. Dale M. Glading, President
