Für englische leser ... Staying in touch with Jesus Matthew 2:41Now every year his parents went to Jerusalem for the festival of the Passover. 42And when he was twelve years old, they went up as usual for the festival. 43When the festival was ended and they started to return, the boy Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem, but his parents did not know it. 44Assuming that he was in the group of travelers, they went a day’s journey. Then they started to look for him among their relatives and friends. 45When they did not find him, they returned to Jerusalem to search for him. 46After three days they found him in the temple, sitting among the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions. 47And all who heard him were amazed at his understanding and his answers. Often behavior patterns revealed in childhood stick with us for life. When I read this story I think we see a truth about Jesus’ personality that exists even today. Many discussions of this story focus on “How could his parents have traveled for a day without him?” “Why did it take his parents 3 days before looking in the temple? Didn’t they know his interests?” and so on. All technical components of the story, all make for good discussions, and there are some merits in understanding these things. Now let’s consider what we see about Jesus’ personality. Consider this story from the point of view that WE are Joseph and Mary, living our lives out today, in relationship to Jesus. I think the pattern we see in Jesus’ childhood applies to us today. Consider that Jesus is always focused on His heavenly Father’s work. If WE wonder off, Jesus gives us freedom of choice to do so, but He will stay focused on His mission (which WE might be ignoring). Often don’t we travel through life for many days, or even entire phases of our lives, without noticing we have left Jesus behind? Then when we go looking for answers, looking for God in our lives, for many the temple seems to be the last place we think to look and get involved in making a difference. Then when we find him, aren’t we always amazed at His understanding and His answers? Perhaps from this perspective, we each might find some personal insights we can apply to our lives. Just a thought. All insights and comments welcome.
Posted on: Wed, 23 Jul 2014 13:59:59 +0000
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