Christian Reflection and Prayer

Scripture:

Read Luke 2:41-52.
TEXT: The boy Jesus stayed behind in
Jerusalem. His parents did not know it
(see Luke 2:43).


If you were a 12-year-old, left alone in a
huge capital city, where would you go?
Mary and Joseph spent three frantic days
trying to answer that question, as they
searched for 12-year-old Jesus. Would
they find Him roaming though the market
place, staring up at one of Herod the Great's
three spectacular towers, or would
He be gazing at his opulent palace in the
north end of town? Was He watching
the Roman soldiers practicing their military
formations and running their drills in
the Antonia Fortress? Would He be cheering
along with the chariot races in the
Jerusalem hippodrome-that same horse
track featured in the movie Ben Hur?
The truth is none of these places held the
biggest attraction for Jesus. He was in
the last place most of us would ever expect a
pre-teen to be. On the third day they found Him
in the temple courts, asking questions of the
religious leaders. His greatest thrill was to be at
His Father's house fulfilling His great mission.
When His mother asked why He had treated
them that way, Jesus' answer confused both
Mary and Joseph: "Did you not know that I must
be in My Father's house?" Jesus had important
work to do, and He knew it. Everything was riding on
it: His great mission and our eternal future. To
open heaven to us He had to live a perfect life, with
absolute obedience and perfection. He had to learn,
understand and memorize God's Word; He had to
know it inside and out. He was a singleminded
Savior on a single-minded mission.


THE PRAYER:

Lord Jesus, thank You for Your single-minded
dedication to our salvation. Give me a similar hunger
for Your Word too. Amen.

(Lutheran Hour Ministries)