Joseph

How much time have you ever spent thinking of Joseph, the earthly father of Jesus? Have you ever wondered what kind of man would stand by his betrothed knowing she is with child and it is not his? Being ready and willing to take on the responsibility to raise this son, not of his body. What wonder must he have felt when he found that it was truly the Son of God. Mary was called to deliver our savior, but what of Joseph's calling? How would one manage to live day to day with a growing boy knowing who and what He was. You feed him, clothe him, love him, discipline him just like your own but what of the added responsibility?

The last we hear of Joseph is when he and Mary take Jesus to Jerusalem when Jesus is 12. Did Joseph die before Jesus began his adult ministry? We'll never know, but we can look to who Jesus was as an adult to know the influence his father had on him. They would have attended temple together, worked in the carpenter's shop, spent father-son time together. Just as Jesus was like God, he would also have exhibited attributes like his earthly father.