Expectations

"He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him, and was expecting a child." Luke 2:5

He is Joseph, there is Bethlehem, registering has nothing to do with a department store and a wedding; it has to do with the census and fulfilling the prophecy.

How awkward though. I mean, here is Joseph with a pregnant girl, not his baby either, you know. The Father is God the Holy Spirit. (Try to explain that truth to those who might ask why you are engaged to a gal who is going to have God's Son, The Messiah.)

I have a lot of respect for Joseph. I am sure he faced a considerable amount of scorn and misunderstanding. Mary was expecting and I would guess that Joseph barely knew what to expect next. He is the consummate example of a guy who is rolling with it. Just trying to do his best given the circumstances. Sure he was visited by an angel in a dream, and is told a few details, but wow is this a huge and overwhelming expectation of him from God, or what. I think God should be in total and complete charge of all expectations and we shouldn't. After all, He is God and should expect whatever He wants and deserves. We are not God, right? What is up with us and all of our expectations? They only lead to big disappointments and failures. Maybe that is what we are after when we have expectations. Maybe we are setting people up to fail or milking the sympathy that comes from petty, unnecessary disappointments. If we need boundaries, fine. Even requirements are fine, just call them that. We are too often harsh or mean when someone does not fulfill our almighty expectations. When we have secret expectations that is even worse. Then people can fail and disappoint us without even having a fighting chance. I pretty much let the expectations go after a couple of disastrous episodes of disappointment and failure in my life. I have replaced them with hopes and leave the promising to God, who always comes through and never fails. Would our expectations of Joseph or Mary have included what God was trying to accomplish through them? Just a thought here, but if we are interested in lowering the drama and pain level in our lives, we might try stopping with all the expectations, especially the unspoken ones. Leave the judgment stuff to God and quit trying to make people conform to our standards for them. I do expect that I will have to get this log out of my eye before I start digging for specks in yours. I can pick people apart with the best of us, but it is wrong and I have no more right to set anyone up for failure or disappointment with my lofty and unjust expectations than I do to judge Joseph and Mary's morals or appearances of impropriety. We should lighten up a little and let God do the judging and expecting and the pruning and purging too. Like Joseph, we should roll with it a little and just do our best given the circumstances. I hope this convicts some and protects others.

In His Service,
Pastor Fred

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