Follow the Leader

I love some movies because of the way they speak to me. Recently, I was watching another of my favorite movies, The Nativity Story. Sure, they take some creative liberties, but overall I think they did an excellent job of portraying the events surrounding Christ's birth.

Every time I watch The Nativity Story, I'm reminded of just how real Jesus was and the struggles the people in the Bible really went through. It's so easy to read the Bible and only hear dry words without feeling the struggles, emotions and life experiences of the people in the stories.

This last time I watched The Nativity Story (while working out even!), a thought occurred to me. So often, Mary is looked at as an extremely faithful, godly, spiritual woman. I don't disagree. An angel came to her and told her she would bear the Son of God and she believed! But what stuck out to me this time was this:

Now when they had departed, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream, saying, “Arise, take the young Child and His mother, flee to Egypt, and stay there until I bring you word; for Herod will seek the young Child to destroy Him.” Matthew 2:13

and this:

Now when Herod was dead, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt, saying, “Arise, take the young Child and His mother, and go to the land of Israel, for those who sought the young Child’s life are dead.” Matthew 2:19-20

Mary had been spoken to by an angel before, so why didn't the angel speak to Mary again and tell her to flee with the child? I find it interesting that after Joseph and Mary were married, the angel spoke to Joseph about their direction as a family. I think it's because Joseph was recognized by God as the head of the family.

What would have happened if Mary had disagreed with Joseph? What if she had dragged her feet and refused to follow his leadership? The results could have been disastrous. Is it any less dangerous when we resist the God ordained leadership of our husbands? I believe it is very dangerous to resist our husband's leadership and I hope to linger over this lesson so it will stick with me the next time I am tempted to follow my own lead!