By J. Merritt Johnston

Flip through your TV channels and you're almost guaranteed to find a daytime talk show dishing out paternity tests to a line-up of potential "baby-daddies." It seems the average American viewer really eats up real-life scandals, so the television execs make sure we get to see plenty of them. They certainly would love to go back in time and get an exclusive interview with Joseph, for he was no stranger to scandal. Let me set the scene for you.

Joseph was a good guy looking for a good girl. He meets Mary, and a beautiful courtship begins. Love was declared and wedding plans made. But before wedding vows were ever exchanged, "she was found to be with child..." (Matthew 1:18). Aww, snap.

A million thoughts must have run through Joseph's mind. His heart was broken, but there were decisions to be made. You see, the consequences in this biblical drama were far greater than anything unwed mothers have to face today. According to Jewish law, Mary could be stoned as a punishment for her unfaithfulness. By their rules, having sex before marriage carried a death sentence. Talk about an incentive for abstinence.

So Joseph finds himself at a crossroads, carrying the keys to Mary's life or death. His wounded pride may have pushed for the harshest punishment, but his wounded heart mustered the courage to pursue a different course. Matthew 1:19 (NLT) says, "Joseph, her fiancé, was a good man and did not want to disgrace her publicly, so he decided to break the engagement quietly."

But just when he thought things couldn't get any crazier in his world, Joseph sees a vision that changes his plans (and his life) forever.

Matthew 1:20-21 says, "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. She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.'"

Yep, pretty crazy news to get in your sleep. If I were in his sandals, I think I may have attributed the dream to some bad Mexican food before bedtime, but Joseph reacts differently. Matthew 1:24 tells us he responds immediately with obedience: "When Joseph woke up, he did what the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took Mary home as his wife."

Our man Joseph was certainly a stand-up guy, He knew that marrying a pregnant girl would open him up to gossip, ridicule, and disgrace in the eyes of all his Jewish buddies...but he had enough guts (and character) to do it anyway. Like I said, he was a stand-up guy. Maybe that's why the Creator of the Universe chose him out of millions to be His Son's daddy.

Seriously, think about that for a minute - our Heavenly Father had to entrust an earthly one with the life of His only Son. It was a scandalous act of faith on God's part. But Joseph rose to the occasion and received the honor of parenting the greatest Son the world has ever known. That might not make today's tabloids, but it's certainly a story worth telling this Christmas.

Merritt serves as the director of SAGE Girls Ministry, a non-profit organization whose mission is to reach, teach, and train young women to impact their communities and the world with the love of Christ. She makes her home in Brenham, TX, where she and her husband, Jeremy, are raising their rambunctious toddler named Josiah.