613) Having grown up in church, I am well-acquainted with the typical “Bible stories.” One of them is the details of an angel visiting Joseph concerning Mary and instructing him to marry her. I might think, No wonder Joseph believed. If an angel came and visited me, I would believe, too. These verses tell us that Joseph did just that but what is not indicated here were the potential thoughts that he might have had.  Maybe he thought, “I must have just been dreaming. No one gets pregnant that way,” or, “I must have just misunderstood the angel’s message but, surely God would not want me to marry a woman who is expecting a child that is not mine.” Or even, “I can’t do that, everyone will think that we sinned and are trying to cover it up with this idea.” I don’t know if Joseph thought these things but it certainly would have been easy for him to have had them. Either way, Joseph obeyed and God’s miracle child, Jesus, came into the world a few months later. Matthew 1:18-24