Ep. 6: Between the lines

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MATTHEW 2:19-23, LUKE 2:39-40

Joseph’s life is very much read ‘between the lines’. Although we don’t read about him any more after these passages, we do appreciate the impact he had on the life of the boy Jesus, who grew and became strong. Jesus grew in a supportive environment, raised by a father who knew that he wasn’t his own, but still furnished a stable upbringing. Joseph is just one of the long line of invisible saints in the Bible and in life, who barely get a mention but who just go about their lives blessing others and providing frameworks so that others may thrive.

My own father is such a man. As I write this he is, at 97 years of age, living his final days in a wonderful care home, racked by Alzheimers and dementia, but visited regularly by his children, grandchildren and great grandchildren, who still love him for who he is. He is a man who was dedicated to my mother, now sadly departed, a powerhouse of invention, creativity and action. He was the man who stood by her side and supported her quietly without fuss. She got all the attention and praise, but he earned the respect of all through his unassuming practicality and cheerful disposition. Our lives are full of such people. Some of them live lives ‘between the lines’, but God knows them all by name. Perhaps you should think of such people who have blessed your life and bless them back?