Son of God!

For Thursday, December 28, 2023:

Luke 2:43 NLT: “After the celebration was over, they started home to Nazareth, but Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem. His parents didn’t miss him at first, because they assumed he was among the other travelers.”

Have you ever lost a child, even for just a short time? In the Atlanta airport, my youngest daughter, about four years old, wandered off. She had been with us a minute ago, but now was missing. We were all franticly searching, calling out her name. Finally, we located her having quite a conversation with a kind, grandfatherly man. Problem quickly solved!

But Jesus and his parents were part of a large entourage that made the pilgrimage from their hometown to Jerusalem each year. As they were returning, Jesus wasn’t with his family, but they all assumed he was with friends. It wasn’t until they stopped for the night that Mary and Joseph confirmed his absence. There was no choice except to trace their steps back to Jerusalem and hopefully locate this precocious youth. After all, if you’re entrusted with the Son of God, you’d better not lose him!

For three days, Mary and Joseph searched high and low, until finally Jesus was discovered in the Temple conversing with the teachers. To all who witnessed this, Jesus appeared wise beyond his years. Everyone who heard him was amazed at his understanding and his answers!

I can just hear his mother: “Son, we were so worried! Why have you treated us like this? Your father and I have been anxiously searching for you.”

To which Jesus replied, “How is it that you searched for me? Did you not know that I must be about my Father’s business?” To Jesus, this all made perfect sense! This was just one of the many things Jesus pursued in his lifetime that others did not fully understand.

As Christians, we answer a lot of naysayers who question Jesus’ authenticity. They say he never stated who he was. But here he stated that God was his Father, and if God is his Father, then what does that make him? Son of God? I think so, no doubt!

Have a blessed day!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

Jesus in the City Fellowship