• Home
  • About This Blog
  • Contact Me
  • Subscribe
  • Comment Policy

Attempts at Honesty

Reflections on the interplay of the Bible and Culture

  • Westminster Shorter Catechism Series
  • Sermon on the Mount Series
Home Bible Reflection How do we choose our heroes?

How do we choose our heroes?

Posted on February 7, 2021 Written by Mark McIntyre Leave a Comment


According to Merriam-Webster, a hero is “a person admired for achievements and noble qualities” or “one who shows great courage.”

During the COVID-19 crisis, those on the front lines of fighting this disease have been rightly identified as heroes based on the definition cited above.

This came to mind when I began reading the first chapter of Matthew where I encountered the story of Joseph, the wife of Mary, the mother of Jesus.

Joseph is perhaps the best example in Scripture of someone who quietly did the right thing. While he doesn’t get a lot of ink in the Bible, his role in God’s story of salvation is significant, if not flashy. He is a hero according to Merriam-Webster’s definition.

What did he do that is so noteworthy?

Joseph was willing to marry Mary while knowing that scandal and questions would follow him for the rest of his life.

I’m pretty sure that 2,000 years ago, people were aware of the gestation period of a human child. They could count months and in a small town, everyone would be aware of what was happening with this young couple.

Questions about the timing of the birth of Jesus would have provided all the gossips in the town ample source material for speculation. They would have continued to talk behind the backs of Joseph and Mary long after the birth had taken place. Then, like now, they understood what causes pregnancy and would have questions regarding Mary’s and perhaps Joseph’s integrity.

Joseph obeyed God while knowing that his obedience was signing him up for a good bit of difficulty and disgrace in the eyes of the community. He did the right thing even though no-one in that town may have understood that it was the right thing.

In the history of the church, there have been thousands, if not millions, of men and women who have followed Joseph’s example of quietly doing the right thing. They have been obedient to their God despite the opinion of anyone in the community around them.

Rather than desiring to do big things for God, perhaps we should just focus on being obedient in the small things and let God worry about the rest. We can be encouraged in this obedience by the example of Joseph.

Joseph is a hero. He had the courage to do the right thing even when there was a personal cost in doing so.


Filed Under: Bible Reflection

About Mark McIntyre

A follower of Jesus Christ who shares observations about how Scripture should impact the church and the world. Mark is the original author and editor of Attempts at Honesty.

Follow Attempts at Honesty

Honesty in your Inbox

Wrong Answer

All the right answers but still wrong

The lesson we should learn from this is that we can have all the right answers but still be wrong. We can say all the right things and still be far away from where we need to be.

PCA Logo

What I’ve been doing instead of blogging

Those who regularly read this blog have probably realized that over the last year, posts have been rather sporadic. I took a long break between Memorial Day and Labor Day and haven’t posted very regularly since coming back to it in September. I thought I would take a few minutes to tell you what has […]

Be courageous

The question is how can we be courageous when we don’t really feel that way?

CAA Logo

Churches for Apologetics – Please sign the petition

The Christian Apologetics Alliance has produced a petition for those who are committed to defending faith in Jesus Christ. Follow the link to sign it.

Question 5

Is there more than one God?

Christianity believes (because the Bible declares) that there is only one God. And as we learned yesterday in Question 4, there are specific things to be believed about that one God as revealed in the Bible.

Post Series

  • Westminster Shorter Catechism Series
  • Sermon on the Mount Series
January 2023
SMTWTFS
1234567
891011121314
15161718192021
22232425262728
293031 
« Dec    

Categories

Archives

Blogger Grid
Follow me on Blogarama

Copyright © 2023 · Focus Pro Theme on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in