To be with the Father...

In The Chosen, you feel Mary's panic as she searches for her missing son, Jesus. Jesus was also just a little boy still, 12 years old.

The example from this episode helps me see the situation in front of me. The fear and panic comes in a little better, than when I just read the section from Luke.

Mary, in all the revelry, meetings and traveling, has not seen Jesus for a while. She expects Him to walk up with family and friends, but when she discovers this is not the case, she and Joseph become anxious. And as the days pass, the anxiety turns to panic. Where is Jesus? An understandable reaction. What if it were your child?

Jesus' reaction when His parents find Him is surprising: Why did you seek Me? Didn’t you no know that I had to be in My Father's house?

Jesus, as young as He was, wanted to be with His Father. To be attuned to Him.

After all the worry, it seems that Joseph and Mary are beginning to understand, Jesus is indeed special. They still have no idea what this means exactly.

Perhaps you recognize this too: you know that Jesus is great and special, but you don't really understand it (yet). You don’t yet understand what that means exactly for yourself.

Three things that stand out to me:

1. You see something beautiful in Mary's attitude: she does not understand everything that is happening, but she remembers and treasures what has happened in her heart.
2. You also see something beautiful in Jesus' attitude: notice the way He addresses His parents, then goes home with them and obeys them. He accepts His position as a child, and His parents' position, within the family where He was placed by God. The result of this attitude was that He increased in "wisdom, in size and stature, and in favor with God and man."
3. From an early age, Jesus knew what God the Father asked of Him. He needed to be in His Father's house. Mary and Joseph did not (immediately) understand what Jesus was referring to. Perhaps there is something God is asking you to do. A step of faith you may take. You have been given a vision, a dream, a desire by God. But only you seem to see this. And those around you may not understand what you are doing. It's good to ask for confirmation for an excursion in faith. What God has put on your heart is never something isolated but always part of the bigger story God is writing. He will show others too. But don't let your desire, where God touches your heart, be stilled by people's approval or disapproval. You may know your dependence on God and that which He asks of you. Your step may be obedience. Step out in faith!

Take the following questions to ponder:

• What is your image of the Heavenly Father? Is it your desire to be close to Him? What does that look like today?
• How do you stay attuned to Your Father?
• Is there anything God asks of you in which you may step out in faith?
• What do you do with things you don't understand?
• What is your attitude when others don't understand you?

Prayer:

"Thank You Jesus that You Yourself have made visible the importance of being close to the Father. Would You help me to draw closer to You Father. May I understand Your will clearly and help me to take a step in faith and do what You ask of me. Amen."