I am about to teach this coming Friday to a group of young people at church.  The ages range from three to fourteen. Trying to incorporate enough information to keep them all interested in the devotion can be hard at times. We, as a church, have committed to reach out to our neighborhood kids and share each week with them that Jesus loves them.

This weekend the topic is “The Journey that Saved the World.”  We have gone with an overall theme this year of the “Olympics.” Teaching the kids about preparation, endurance, and finishing the race.  So, let me take you on the journey that I have prepared for the kids.

• Preparation:

1. In order for Joseph and Mary to hear the call of the Lord, they needed to be prepared and walking close with Him.
2. Then when the angel came and told them what was to happen, they needed to prepare for the journey.

• Endurance:

1. Because they were prepared, they would be able to endure the journey.
2. They knew that God called them to do this task, so they needed to endure no matter how hard the journey would become.

• Finishing the Journey:

1. When they got to Bethlehem the journey was not done. They needed to find lodging, a safe place to deliver baby Jesus, and prepare the area for the baby to come.
2. Once the baby was born, they could look back and see that they had prepared for a work to be done. They could see that they endured the journey they had to go on to get to the place where He needed them to be, and then they needed to deliver the baby to finish the task.

• What we can learn from this:

1. We need to be ready and prepared for when He calls us to do a job.
2. We need to know that we will need to endure the journey, and that it might not be easy all the time.
3. We need to know that when the journey is over, we can look back with joy, and we completed what was asked of us.

We also can look at the fact that when we prepare and answer the call, endure the journey, and finish it, that it is not only us who are affected but many around us. A task given to us by the Lord always has layers to it. Our lives are not our own, and we affect others all the time.

Mary and Joseph answering the call brought us the Savior (His divine plan). This Savior would ultimately be the One who would save the world. I am sure that Mary and Joseph had no idea the impact they would have on us today, thousands of years later.

Read Luke Chapter 2 today for the story of their Journey.

Lynn A.C. Wilson – Resume of a Mother