“And He said unto them, How is it that ye sought me? Wist ye not that I must be about My Father’s business?” (Luke 2:49).
Now that we have determined Jesus did not just stay in the manger until he was age twelve, let’s look at the first recorded event of Jesus’ youth. It was the Passover in Jerusalem, Jesus and His earthly family attended. After the first day of their journey home, Mary probably did a head count and discovered someone was missing. That someone was Jesus. With the throng of people returning home from the Passover, something could have happened to Him. He was only twelve. He could have wandered off with some other boys. Anything was possible. You can imagine how frantic Joseph and Mary felt. Their precious Son was missing.
They searched for Him three days in desperation. Finally, they thought, “Let’s go to the Temple.” There He was, speaking with the scribes, Pharisees and priests who were all amazed by His maturity and wisdom. However, Jesus’ parents were not. I envision a mother somewhere between relief and anger as she reprimanded Jesus. Joseph certainly had words with his son. How could He have worried them sick? He was going to have some explaining to do. Jesus reminds His mother, as we find in our Scripture today, He “must be about His Father’s business.” Mary may not have understood but she kept His words in her heart. She realized she would have to allow Him to step into manhood and do God’s will. It’s hard to let go when you feel your child is being called away from you to do the will of God. It doesn’t matter if you are ready or not to free them, you have to love both them and God enough to permit this to happen.
Parents, if you have a child who feels called into full-time Christian service, be prepared to do as Mary and let him or her go. May we all redeem our remaining time “being about the Father’s business.”
Sue Winchester MissouriPRAY TOGETHER: Pray for new employee Shelley Howell in International Missions’ finance department.
