like dad like son

The influence of a godly parent or parental figure is incalculable.  Some of us have been blessed by those who have shown us The Way from the earliest age.  Others of us have received this blessing later in life, when someone worthy of following took us under his or her wing as we walked together in The Way.

Jesus' Dad, Joseph, was pledged to be married to Mary, but before they came together, she was found to be pregnant through the Holy Spirit.  Joseph, not yet aware of the Spirit's Role in Mary's pregnancy, was faithful to the law, and yet did not want to expose her to public disgrace (Matthew 1:12-13).  Caught between the demands of the law, which might have resulted in Mary's public humiliation or worse, and his not wanting her to suffer any further, Joseph intended to call off the engagement, but to do so quietly.  If there was any doubt about Joseph's suitability to be the human guardian of Jesus, this gracious act established his being filled with the Grace and Truth of God's Son, now in his charge.

Later in His Life, Jesus faced a similar moral dilemma when He was presented with a woman caught in the act of adultery.  Faithful to the law, Jesus could have assented to the calls for her to be stoned.  But knowing that she had already been publicly disgraced, and not wanting her to suffer any further, Jesus also chose His Grace and Truth, calling out her accusers for their sin, telling the woman to leave her life of sin, but assuring her that He didn't condemn her (John 8:7,11).  

I wonder if Jesus remembered His Dad as He made that choice.  And I wonder who might remember us when we do likewise, or who we might be showing The Way along the way this day.