This devotional reflects on Mary and Joseph’s journey to Bethlehem under Roman rule.
God often fulfills His promises through ordinary systems and everyday steps.
Today, we learn to trust the God of order with steady faith.
“All went to register, each to his own town.
And Joseph also went up from Galilee, from the town of Nazareth, to Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and lineage of David, to be registered with Mary, his betrothed, who was with child.”
(Luke 2:3–5)
Mary and Joseph
Mary and Joseph walk along the road.
With Mary, who is far along in her pregnancy,
Joseph looks for a place to stay.
Israel was under Roman rule.
At that time, the Roman emperor Augustus ordered a census
for tax collection and administrative control.
The Jews had to return to their hometowns to register,
according to the decree.
So Joseph had to take Mary with him and go to Bethlehem.
God Works Through Ordinary Circumstances
To the people of that time, it was merely a simple administrative procedure.
However, it became essential to the fulfillment of prophecy.
The Messiah would be born in Bethlehem.
God’s providence, God’s plan, and God’s will are fulfilled in this way.
Often, they unfold naturally within the circumstances of the time.
The birth of Jesus Christ,
the Lord of the world who would bear the sins of sinners
and grant salvation to those who believe,
did not take place with noise or commotion.
It did not come with trumpet blasts or grand celebrations.
Instead, it came through procedures carried out
within the ambitions of an emperor ruling a colony.
We often seek God’s guidance.
We want to know His will.
And at times, we quietly expect answers to come
in the form of astonishing miracles.
But when I look at today’s passage,
my prayers and expectations feel deeply shameful.
The Creator and Savior did not appear in a way
that seemed mysterious or admirable in the eyes of people.
Of course, being conceived in the womb of a virgin was extraordinary.
Yet people at that time would not have assumed it was by God’s power.
Since she was Joseph’s betrothed,
wouldn’t they have assumed the child was Joseph’s?
Trusting the God of Order
I learned that God is a God of order.
And He respects the order of the world.
Perhaps that is why Jesus came in this way.
When I pray about the problems I must resolve,
I often expect everything to disappear and be solved at once.
I need to change that attitude.
The God of order accomplishes everything in order.
Therefore, trusting in that God,
I too should do my best where I am
and entrust everything to Him.
“Jesus, who came into this world as the son of a carpenter,
within the order of the world at that time, thank You.
I want to become more like You.
So I will live with order, faithfully and steadily carrying out the tasks entrusted to me.
At the same time, I will hold on to faith and look forward to what God will accomplish.
Through God’s people,
may the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Savior of the world, be delivered deeply and widely.
I pray in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.”