12-12 CHRISTMAS POST

Jesus is the God of the Third Way

"He arose and took the child and His mother by night and departed for Egypt." —Matthew 2:14

Let's consider Joseph.
He didn't wait for the alarm.
He didn't pack the house.
He didn't warn his neighbors.
There was no delay—
like birds flying from a snare.

One choice.
Two visible options.
Both dark.

Divorce her quietly—
ending the betrothal in silence,
shielding her from the ordeal of a public trial.

Expose her openly—
a move that could strip her dignity,
crush her beneath shame,
and even cost her life.

Each path ended in loss.

Then God spoke of a miracle.
Through an angel,
He revealed a third option Joseph had never imagined:
a divine provision.
Not shame.
Not death.
But life—eternal life—entering the world.

And Joseph's story is not alone.
When God's people seemed hemmed in
by only two options,
He provided another way.

Israel at the Red Sea—
surrender or drown.
God parted the waters.

Daniel's friends in Babylon—
bow or burn.
God entered the fire.

Esther in Persia—
stay silent or perish.
God turned the king's heart.

Each time, human options ended in loss.
Each time, God spoke of deliverance.

This is the pattern:
When we see only dead ends,
God opens a way.

He is not bound by the choices we imagine.
He speaks of His way—
where shame becomes salvation,
and death gives way to life.

Joseph's third option was God's only way.
And it reminds us still:
He is the God who parts seas,
enters fires,
turns hearts,
and brings His Son into the world
through a virgin's womb.

When our vision narrows to two painful paths,
we must remember—
Jesus is the God of the Third Way.
The way of hope.