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The appearance: Mary, who is pledged to be married to Joseph, is pregnant before their marriage.
The options: Joseph could confess that he is not the father and
allow Mary to be condemned as an adultress and possibly face death. Or, he could lie and say he was the father.
The reality: Mary was pregnant in a unique and
miraculous way - Jesus was virgin born, supernaturally conceived, fulfilling Isaiah 7:14.
The appearance: Mary and Joseph had a illegitimate child. Jesus would
have been disqualified from normal worship in the synagogues.
The reality: Jesus is the One who was, who is, and who is to come. . . He alone is worthy of our
worship!
Often appearances are the opposite of reality and thus require faith. Joseph demonstrated his faith by believing the reality of what God had said to
him rather than believing in the appearance of the situation. For us today, the appearance is that another holiday season has approached. We've been taught to say:
"Happy Holidays", not "Merry Christmas". We plan to spend extra time and money buying gifts. We sing Christmas carols and feel good. But, the
reality is that Jesus was indeed the Son of God. He was supernaturally conceived by the Holy Spirit. He lived a sinless life and thus was qualified to become the
sin-bearer for the sins of men. Are you celebrating Christmas - are you living your life - according to appearances or reality?
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