I received the following article in an email. I cannot remember when I got it, nor who sent it to me, but I thought it relevant today. So, I want to share it with you:
Joseph
The forgotten participant in the drama of Christmas is Joseph. He played the role of father in Jesus’ life. God gave him an important assignment as husband, father, teacher, provider, and protector. He was present at Jesus’ birth. We are assured that he was admired and loved by this ideal Son.
We have very little biographical information in the Bible about Joseph. He never wrote a book. He traveled only a few miles from his birthplace all of his life. He was out of his little country only once, and that was to take his child to Egypt to preserve his life. He was not well educated, and he made his living at carpentry. Not a word he spoke is recorded in the Scriptures. He drops out of the picture when Jesus is twelve years of age, and we never see him again. In all likelihood, he died while Jesus was young, and this eldest Son succeeded him in the carpenter shop.
Dr. John Claypool told of a young man named Mike who was taking drama lessons. The climax of the year was a play in which all the pupils participated. Mike was visibly disappointed when he was assigned a "bit part." He had only three lines, and they were close to the end of the play. His father told how he and his wife sweated through two hours until the time came for Mike’s part. Summing up the lad’s performance, the father said, "He said his lines — not too soon, not too late, not too loud, not too soft, not too fast, not too slow — he said his lines just right."
The father left the play thinking, this is a parable of my life. I am just a bit player in the great drama of history. But when the curtain comes down and the stage is vacant at last, I hope it can be said of me, "He said his lines — not too soon, not too late, not too loud, not too soft, not too fast, not too slow — he said his lines just right."
This can be said of Joseph, "He said his lines just right." Can it be said of you and me?
I hope this story causes you to think about your life and the testimony that is yours.
Sandy, all the BEM staff, and I, want to wish you a Merry Christmas and a blessed New Year!
May you say your lines — "not too soon, not too late, not too loud, not too soft, not too fast, not too slow — may you say your lines just right."
Tim
