There's a difference between GOOD and GODLY...

Teenage pregnancy! The statistics from many nations around the world tell us that the number of very young unmarried mothers is continuing to increase. Fifty years ago, this was a subject for great shame, and the pregnancy was often hidden from friends and neighbours. Today it may still be a cause of distress to the young mother, but it's more common now and often doesn't have the same level of shame attached to it.

This morning I was reading about a teenage pregnancy that happened a long time ago. This one took everyone by surprise because the young couple concerned were devout churchgoers and had a good reputation in their community. Perhaps the most stunned of all was the young father; in fact, he knew that he couldn't be the father, because he and his fiancée had never had sex.
When we read the story in Matthew chapter one, or when we see paintings of the nativity (where Joseph is usually shown as an old guy with a beard) we often forget that this story is actually about a teenage boy. The fact that he wasn't yet married probably meant that Joseph was around 18 or 19 at the time this happened. And Mary may even have been only 13 or 14 at the time.

What shock and betrayal this young man must have felt, when he realised that the girl he loved had been unfaithful to him and was expecting someone else's child. Oh, no doubt Mary had tried to tell him what the angel had said about her virgin birth…. but that story probably sounded unbelievably far-fetched to everyone that heard it.

And so, in the face of his disappointment and betrayal, this teenage boy did a very good thing: instead of making Mary's shame even more public, he made a loving choice to break off their engagement discreetly and not to make a big fuss about it. He must have been broken hearted, but that unselfish choice showed that young Joseph was really a good person.

Then something totally unexpected happened. As Joseph lay in bed one night - perhaps tossing and turning, shedding tears of grief over the betrayal of the girl that he loved - he finally fell asleep and began to dream. And it was a dream sent by God. In the dream, an angel spoke to Joseph, confirming that Mary's pregnancy really was something supernatural and that Joseph shouldn't hesitate to go ahead with the marriage as originally planned. So what Joseph did next went beyond simply being a "good" person. In choosing to believe and obey God, Joseph showed that he was also a godly person - a man who was willing to do things God's way, no matter what it might cost him.  (Click here to read previous reflections on the sacrifice that this young couple were making in embracing God's will for their lives.)

You see, a good person may make choices that others admire, even others who live their lives by different standards. But a godly person is allowing the Lord to direct their choices; this might sometimes mean that what they do is not the most obvious or logical thing… and it might mean that they face criticism, opposition or gossip from others around them.

As Christmas approaches, we are reminded of the sacrifice that Jesus made in coming to live on earth as a human being. We are reminded of the sacrifices that young Mary and Joseph made in order to cooperate in God's miracle of incarnation. And we are challenged anew about what we, you and I, are willing to sacrifice in the 21st century in order to see God's kingdom come in this generation. What will be our gift to Him this Christmas?