December 29 - Jesus Grows Up

December 29 - Jesus Grows Up - Luke 2:40-52

Luke's gospel is more than likely taken from conversations he had with Mary. Can you imagine her recounting these stories to him? Doesn't Luke 2:40 sound like a mother? "And the child grew and became strong; he was filled with wsidom and the grace of God was upon him." As she looked back over her son's life, how she must have treasured the memories, but in looking back, she would have recognized that God's grace was upon this child.

They took him to Jerusalem for Passover and somehow lost contact with him during the festival. Though the crowds would have been quite large, there would have been none of the fears surrounding wandering children that there are today. Entire communities were in Jerusalem for Passover and Jesus would have been expected to easily find his way among the crowded streets until he found someone that he knew quite well.

Mary and Joseph did what any normal parent would do after not finding him, they were frightened and lectured him on how his behavior affected other people. They didn't see the interaction He was having with the rabbis, they could only see their own fear.

As I read through this, I was surprised by the fact that they did not understand what he was saying to them (Luke 2:49-50). But, as I thought about it, I suppose that after 12 years of having a normal boy in their home, they no longer thought of Him as the Son of God, but began thinking of Him as their son.

Isn't that how we live our lives? We forget how close He is to us and that He lives within us. We go on with our lives as if that isn't a significant portion of our being. We certainly don't act as if Jesus is actually a part of our nature. We're selfish, self-centered, self-involved, concerned with how the world is treating us. We worry that we aren't getting everything we deserve and have earned. We act as if we are only human, when the Divine is right there before us.

Mary and Joseph had forgotten Who they were raising. We regularly forget Who we are following and Who resides in our hearts.

Though Luke 2:51 tells us that Jesus returned to Nazareth with His parents and was obedient to them, He had fully established His mission in these verses. His life was centered around the Father. There could be no other life for Him.

And so He grew - in favor with God and man. The child has come as a Savior, but He points the way to the Father ... while he was on earth and now, in our hearts. Will we follow?