Wednesday, April 24, 2024
In the gospel of Luke, chapter two, there is an encounter that Jesus has with his parents that is every parent’s nightmare. Mary and Joseph lost their child! Jesus was twelve years old at the time, when the family went up to the festival, which was their custom to do every year. After the festival was over, Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem and his parents were unaware. They traveled back home for over a day before they realized he was missing. They started to look for him among their relatives and friends fi rst, and when they did not find him, they went back to Jerusalem to search there. It wasn’t until three days later before they found him sitting in the temple courts, listening and engaging the religious leaders in conversation. Scripture tells us that everyone who heard Jesus speak at this young age of twelve, were amazed and his level of understanding, while his parents were astonished at what they were witnessing. When Mary questioned Jesus asking “why have you treated us like this,” he answered her saying “didn’t you know I would be in my Father’s house?”
By this point in the story, Mary and Joseph must have been struggling with the identity of Jesus at bit. When Jesus was born, they were told that the baby would not be there’s but that they would be entrusted to raise him. They were told that He came from the Father in Heaven and His birth would be a miracle. He had a destiny to complete and there will soon be a new sequel to the story being told that would impact the world. But somehow, in this moment, their parent instincts kicked in and they forgot about all of this. This part of the story ended with this statement, “then he went down to Nazareth with them and was obedient to them. But his mother treasured all these things in her heart.”
Why did Mary treasure these things in her heart? I believe she was wise enough and submissive enough that what she learned from God would soon be unfolded in her life. Mary was going to need to know every word that Jesus has ever said by the time she will witness his death on a cross. This was a special moment for Mary. Just as there are those times in your life where God is speaking messages to you. Some of those messages that come our way might not seem to fi t at just the right moment, but God says for you to hang on because there will come a time where you are going to remember these things that I have said, and it will help you deal with what is about to happen next. Mary needed to treasure these messages from God, because very soon she will need it to draw strength from it. I like to call these Faith Moments. It is like God is telling you to remember His words, remember His promises, because you are going to need to draw strength upon them real soon.
The Great Blondin was one of the greatest tightrope walkers in the world. One of his greatest accomplishments was walking over the Niagara Falls on a tight rope, 11,000 feet long, and 160 feet above the water. This was something that he had accomplished hundreds of times with each time being a different theatric variation. The walked it blindfolded, pushing a wheelbarrow, on stilts, carrying a man on his back, sitting down midway while making and eating an omelet. One day, he was pushing a wheelbarrow across the rope and asked the crowd if they though he could do it. The crowd cheered with support. Blondin then asked for a volunteer to get into the wheelbarrow and the crowd grew silent.
You see, there is a big diff erence between a person in the crowd just going along with the norms in life, and the person in a wheelbarrow. Even Peter was asked to get out of the boat and walk on water with Jesus. It takes courage, and it will definitely be out of your comfort zone. But when you do, God reminds you that His promises are true and they will prepare you for anything you will soon face in this life.
I know that there is a great sequel to this story coming very, very soon. Theologians have worn out their pens and emptied out their ink wells trying to explain what it was that Jesus actually new and was teaching at the young age of twelve. But that is not the most important question in my mind. I would rather ask, who did He trust? If you really want a relationship with God, then this is the question you need to ask yourself, whose words are you willing to treasure and place your trust in? I encourage you to put your trust in none other than Jesus Christ! Because it will be through those words and reminders that God is preparing you for your next chapter in life.
TACLA 24048E
