Read: Matthew 1:18-25
When Joseph woke from sleep, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded him: he took his wife, but knew her not until she had given birth to a son. (vv. 24-25)

In his no-nonsense classic, A Long Obedience in the Same Direction, Eugene Peterson diagnoses our spiritual illness like this: “There is a great market for religious experience in our world; there is little enthusiasm for the patient acquisition of virtue, little inclination to sign up for a long apprenticeship in what earlier generations of Christians called holiness” (p. 16).

When I think of a long obedience in the same direction, I can’t help but think of Joseph, a man of humble means and heart, trusted by God to take care of “Mary and Himself,” as one songwriter so poetically put it. Surely God, who searches the heart, saw in Joseph one attuned to him, ready to obey even when it made no sense. What weight Joseph shouldered. What virtue to give up his pride, to stand between Mary and her accusers, to lay aside his desire for God’s. But what a great example to a small child who would grow up and need to do the same.

Obedience is more a gift for those who watch than those who submit.

For those yielding to the voice of God, obedience is a patient acquisition of virtue, a long apprenticeship, a long obedience in the same direction. As I continue the climb of faith, I’m so grateful for those who go before me, turning around from time to time to offer a hand, before turning again and climbing for the summit.

Prayer: Giver of good gifts, thank you for the gift of watching those who’ve followed hard after you. Their obedience is a gift to me, and I long to be that gift to others.