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Growing Stronger

And the child grew, and waxed strong in spirit, filled with wisdom: and the grace of God was upon him..– Luke 2:40

 

Jesus grew.

 

He was not born strong, wise, and full of grace.

 

He was born who He was: the Son of God, but the Son of God, God the Son had emptied Himself and taken on Himself the form of a servant.

 

Therefore, it was required that He submit to the process of maturation physically, emotionally, relationally, intellectually, and spiritually.

 

We, when we were children, often wanted the privileges of adults. When we became adults, we longed for the care free life we enjoyed as children.

 

Seldom have we relished the gut-wrenching, humiliating, submissive, and painful experiences that are sometimes associated with growing up. In the quest to avoid some of these, there are among us those who have never grown up or have failed to do so in some selected areas of life.

 

Jesus grew. He became strong, wiser, and more gracious. He did it in stages and through steady progression. He did through challenges and changes, and choices.

 

He embraced the opportunities to grow and cherished the wisdom that was available through the synagogue and temple and the teaching of His parents.

 

Jesus grew.

 

Are you growing? You cannot stay where you are. You will either be spiraling up or spiraling down in the strength, wisdom, and grace.

 

You can become weaker by not growing stronger. You can indeed become less wise by refusing to grow wiser.

 

You can become colder and more indifferent by not becoming a channel for God’s grace to flow through you.

 

The choice, as always, is yours. What will it be – growth or decline?

 

After the Custom

Now his parents went to Jerusalem every year at the feast of the Passover. And when he was twelve years old, they went up to Jerusalem after the custom of the feast. – Luke 2:41-42

 

We do some very important things because they are customs we have always observed which have meaning to us and our families.

 

Joseph and Mary, by their actions, identify themselves as serious participants in the traditions of Israel. They were faithful to observe those customs that reminded the Jews of their heritage, covenant, and special relationship with God.

 

We do what we do every year because we believe what we believe every day. There is no reason to believe this was merely rote for them. It was more than an annual date on the calendar. It was the Passover and this one feast would figure prominently in the life and mission of Jesus. Even His death would be a kind of Passover.

 

At the age of 12, His parents were preparing him, without knowing it, for His passion.

 

Jesus had to learn the ways of His people. He had to learn the history and covenants as well as the customs to which they pointed. As He learned them, He began to see His place in their fulfillment.

 

Our children must learn the ways of the Lord. It is by observing regular worship and spiritual disciplines that we communicate with each new generation the meaning of our faith. In so doing, we transfer our faith to them. Without these observances, we make it more difficult for them to discover the meaning behind the rituals.

 

We may not like ritual. We may think if it as formal, stuffy, and devoid of meaning. If that is true, it is not the fault of the ritual itself, but our fault in not keeping the meaning alive and visible.

 

If we neglect those things which God as given us as teaching tools, we will find ourselves digging ditches with spoons.

 

Learn from Mary and Joseph and keep alive that which has meaning and use customs to tell the old, old story of God’s goodness and redemption to a new generation of eager learners. ”

 

Seeking in the Wrong Places

And when they had fulfilled the days, as they returned, the child Jesus tarried behind in Jerusalem; and Joseph and his mother knew not of it. But they, supposing him to have been in the company, went a day's journey; and they sought him among their kinsfolk and acquaintance. – Luke 2:43-44

 

Mary and Joseph were desperate.  You know the feeling. You assume your child is with you and then discover that he is missing.

 

They were not negligent. They lived in an “it takes a village” time and community. Everyone looked out for each others’ children and there were few dangers posed by child snatchers and their ilk.

 

There was a lot of noise and confusion and everyone was traveling in a large band. The adults walked and talked together and the children played with cousins and neighbors as they traversed the journey.

 

It was a grand time. But then, Jesus was missing.

 

And the parents looked in all the logical places. The problem was, He wasn’t in any of the logical places.

 

They were looking for Jesus in all the wrong places. Have you ever done that?

 

Have you sought Him in words that you thought might justify your own assumptions, prejudices, and wishes?

 

Have you sought Him in forms that suit your tastes or people to whom you are attracted only to discover that He is to be found among the distasteful people and styles that you deem repugnant?

 

He is in “the least of these.” He is in the unlikely art forms and literature, buried deeply in the subtleties.

 

He is in lesser places and the unattractive settings that everyone has abandoned.

 

And He is present among those who earnestly and deeply seek truth. In this case, it was with the rabbis. At other times, it was among tax collectors and sinners.

 

But so often, we look in the wrong places.

 

Q&A

And when they found him not, they turned back again to Jerusalem, seeking him. And it came to pass, that after three days they found him in the temple, sitting in the midst of the doctors, both hearing them, and asking them questions. And all that heard him were astonished at his understanding and answers. - Luke 2:45-47

 

It was one of those times that come only once in a lifetime. A 12 year old boy was among the scholars amazing them with His insights and knowledge.

 

It was Jesus. Looking back and knowing what we know, we are not surprised.

 

But He had no halo to identify Him. He was a boy, looked like one, smelled like one, talked like one … well, until you actually listened to the words.

 

There are no audio or video tapes of that encounter, but it must have been quite a moment. Wouldn’t love to see and hear a replay?

 

What kinds of questions do you suppose He asked? Might we, from time to time, have asked similar questions.

 

What separated Jesus from many of us is that He was willing to actually listen to the answers and learn. Yes, the Son of Man was humble enough to be taught and thus, He understood and asked deeper questions still.

 

In His own ministry, Jesus would practice this sort of pedagogy, utilizing the question and answer format.

 

Seeing Him as a student helps us to appreciate Him even more as a teacher.

 

Jesus just couldn’t get enough of the Torah. He became absorbed in the study, lost in the discussion, captivated by the conversation of the elders, eager to learn, eager to ask, eager to increase.

 

Can we take that example unto ourselves?

 

How is it that we become so closed and un-teachable? The Master of the Universe Himself sat at the feet of the elders. Let us sit at His feet and learn.

 

He still entertains Q&A. Ask.

 

Will My Family Understand?

And when they saw him, they were amazed: and his mother said unto him, Son, why hast thou thus dealt with us? behold, thy father and I have sought thee sorrowing. And he said unto them, How is it that ye sought me? wist ye not that I must be about my Father's business? And they understood not the saying which he spake unto them. . – Luke 2:48-50

 

You really can’t blame Mary and Joseph for feeling the way they did. They were thoroughly traumatized and utterly exhausted.

 

But don’t go scolding Jesus either because there is something more going on here than a kid who forgot to check in with his parents.

 

We are watching the unfolding of something big. We are witnessing a pattern that will repeat itself and the Master will even refer to with a warning more than once.

 

We might have to choose between the work and will of God and the blessing of our families.

 

The people closest too us may just not understand what we are doing when we pursue the things of God with absolute abandon. They may not be able to wrap their minds and emotions around that call to overseas missions. They may not be able to grasp your willingness to stand out from the crowd. They may be the ones who lovingly, with caring intent, seek to discourage you from “fanaticism.”

 

“Fasting! That can’t be good for you. You need to eat something.”

 

“You are spending way too much time down at that church. You need a social life.”

 

“Come on. Let your hair down. You don’t have to hold yourself to such a high standard.”

 

“I’m worried about you, honey.”

 

“You gave HOW MUCH to missions?!!!”

 

They love us, but they may not understand. Are you ready for that? Can you maintain your joy and focus without the encouragement of those you love the most in this world?

 

Jesus had to struggle with that too. He kept His focus. Will you?

 

Subject to Them

And he went down with them, and came to Nazareth, and was subject unto them: but his mother kept all these sayings in her heart. And Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favour with God and man. – Luke 2:51-52

 

Jesus made Himself subject to the very people that didn’t “get it,” because it was the right thing to do. It was God’s plan. It was the very best way for Him to become all that He was meant to be.

 

We struggle with this issue more than we care to admit. We want leaders and supervisors we can respect and sometimes we are called to respect the ones we have.

 

We reason that we cannot learn from those who are our inferiors in some area – but we are blindsided by our own arrogance.

 

Jesus, who had every right to be arrogant and self-assured, was not. He who might have skipped over the whole process of being formed, decided to go through it.

 

He was subject to His parents.

 

That meant that He very well may have been corrected when He was already correct – and that He chose to learn from it.

 

It meant that He took orders when He really knew a better way to do something. He had depths of insight that enabled Him to see things clearly. But He chose to take orders because it was part of His own formation and it was an example to each of us.

 

The fact that Jesus became subject to His parents is not coincidence or minor point of history inserted in the text. It points to His character and integrity.

 

Not only was He obeying the commandments that He might have legitimately exempted Himself from, He was finding value in the obedience.

 

Perhaps we would serve the Lord and ourselves better if we quit complaining about our bosses and leaders and simply submitted to the legitimate authority God has placed over us.

 

It is no excuse that we have better ideas and abilities. If Jesus didn’t pull that one out of the hat, why do we think we could or should?