Matthew 1:18-25
18 This is how the birth of Jesus the Messiah came about[d]: His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be pregnant through the Holy Spirit. 19 Because Joseph her husband was faithful to the law, and yet[e] did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly.
20 But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit.21 She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus,[f] because he will save his people from their sins.”
22 All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: 23 “The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel”[g] (which means “God with us”).
24 When Joseph woke up, he did what the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took Mary home as his wife. 25 But he did not consummate their marriage until she gave birth to a son. And he gave him the name Jesus.
God is not concerned about your reputation.
In Israel the custom for weddings was that a couple would be married. Their parents would arrange the marriage and exchange contracts. They would be considered to be married but would live apart from each other for a year. This would show their faithfulness to one another and confirm that the wife was pure. After this time the husband would take the bride home and there would be a huge processions and celebration.
However, if she turned out to be pregnant the marriage could be annulled. For Joseph to have discovered that Mary was pregnant must have been an incredible blow for him. At first he decided to divorce her but then an angel convinces him that the child is the Messiah and so he takes her into his home early. This was obviously to protect her. But as her pregnancy became more apparent, everyone would have started talking. You can imagine the words that would have been spoken about them. They would have been misunderstood and misjudged. However, they both knew that they had a higher calling and so they accepted shame from others in exchange for glory from God.
God is not in the PR business. He is more concerned about your faithfulness and fruitfulness than your reputation. People will misunderstand what he is doing in your life and people will judge you. There will be times when the crowd celebrates you and others when they condemn you. If your compass is set to the sound of applause then you will always be vulnerable and unstable. Jesus asks, what good is it to gain the whole world and lose your soul?
We are called to live for the applause and the praise of one. What God thinks and what he says about us matters more than anything.
