|
Luke 2
(Covers time in Jesus' life from 8 days old to 12 years old)
39 When Joseph and Mary had done everything required by the Law of the Lord, they returned to Galilee to their own town of Nazareth. 40 And the child grew and became strong; he was filled with wisdom, and the grace of God was on him....
(Covers time from 12 years old to 30 years...)
51 Then he went down to Nazareth with them and was obedient to them. But his mother treasured all these things in her heart. 52 And Jesus grew in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and man.
These two verses, forty and fifty-two, are critical passages in knowing about Jesus of Nazareth. They point us to the central truth that Jesus had to grow spiritually, mentally, and emotionally before he was ready to live out his call as God's Son.
Contrary to theological and biblical perceptions which paint Jesus as coming into this world fully divine and essentially ready to take on God's expectations of him, Luke tells us that Jesus needed to grow, to mature, to develop in order that he could be fully and appropriately used by God. While he clearly was God's Son and thus a special spark of divinity was within him, he was also a very real human being whose faithfulness and effectiveness would depend on his readiness for the mammoth task ahead.
I find great solace in Luke's revealing words. It helps me to know that the Lord whom I follow can relate to the very real challenges and issues of being obedient to God's will. He wasn't some spiritual robot who didn't have to struggle with that which God asked of him and who never knew what it was to have questions and doubts. No, according to Luke, he spent 30 years seeking to be prepared to be the person God was calling him to be.
Do you realize what this means for you and me? Whatever we face in life, however we feel, Jesus understands. There is nothing you're going through right now that Jesus does not understand, that God does not understand.
In your best moments and your worst moments, Jesus understands. In your high moments and your low moments, Jesus understands. In the moments when you've got it all together and the moments you don't have anything together, Jesus understands. In your moments of faith and hope and in your moments of real doubt and struggle, Jesus understands. In your moments when you praise God and in your moments when you may be upset with God, Jesus understands. There is nothing you face in life, no feeling you have, no emotional struggle you face, and no difficulty that tries your faith that Jesus does not understand.
I thank God for this revelation from Luke that in Jesus our Lord we have one who has walked our path, understands our challenges, and yet who readily shows us that we each can over time truly become persons more committed to God's will for our lives.
| 
