What better way for the Christ to be received into his earthly family than in the way of obedience to the Word. And in a sense, this still happens today. How do you receive Christ into your home, your family, your life? It must be exactly as Joseph and Mary did: by faith, a faith that must be even deeper now, because its object is not simply the Saviour born in Bethlehem, but the Saviour who also shed his blood, gave his life as a ransom for you, and vanquished death forever by rising from the dead! The entirety of God’s Word points you to this child, the Immanuel, as the Saviour of your life, your joy for today, and your hope for eternity! How amazing is it that the Son of God, by the gift of faith, enters into your earthly situation!1
24 When Joseph woke from sleep, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded him: he took his wife,