Lenten Devotions - Day 07
“Jesus answered, ‘Why did you have to look for me? Didn’t you know that I would be in my Father’s house?’” Luke 2:49
What do our habits say about us? Jesus expected his family to know where to find him. Even as a child, a pattern was laid for his character, identity, and concerns. The routines of his life spoke of who he was and fashioned a mold of what one might expect of him.
His parents missed the cues of what to expect, possibly because they were too wrapped up in their own established patterns of routine. Apparently, they had not paused long enough to think about where Jesus would be, and what he would be doing.
Early on, Jesus’ life had a pattern. From his bar mitzvah, this celebration event at which he became a son of the covenant and regarded as an adult before the law, a pattern was already set. He could already expect his parents to know where he would be and what he would be doing. His character and habits were established around his identity and relationship with God. This relationship had visible marks as it impacted where he went and what he did. It affected what others could and should expect of him, even if they often failed to expect what they should.
This was not the first time that Jesus failed to meet expectations. It was not the last time that the expectations of others regarding him were upended. What made the difference in his case was that others did not really understand God, nor the degree of dedication to serving God’s purposes exhibited in Jesus’ life. They expected less of him than they were seeing. They expected Jesus to be more like themselves than to continue in the pattern he had already established.
That is often the case with our expectations, is it not? We often expect less of others, instead of more. We are surprised when we find people who truly dedicate their lives to serve God. Perhaps we wish they were more like ourselves and thus held us to lesser standards. Perhaps we prefer to ignore the challenge their lives might place before our own experience and commitment to following Christ Jesus. Perhaps we look to Christ with the same dumbfounded response of his own parents who did not recognize that he would be found involved in the business of God.
While we might be tempted as they to recast Jesus more in line with our own ideals, attitudes, and aims, we must seek to find Jesus according to his true identity and character. The one who here does not follow the crowds home from the Temple, but remains to converse about the will, character, and identity of God, is the one who made his way not to the glory of a crown, but to the disgrace and shame of a cross. He is obviously to be found about his Father’s business and in his Father’s house, if we would but stop to consider who he is, we would find him.
Where can I be found? What do my habits, routines, and aims teach others to expect from me?
Determine how your habits need to adapt if love for God is to change your life. What would it take for friends and family to know to look for you going about the business of your Father?
“Lord, help me to see you for who you truly are, that I might carry on with your plans and purpose. May others know to find me seeking to embody your priorities, not of those of the crowd.”
—©Copyright 2009 Christopher B. Harbin http://www.sermonsearch.com/contributors/104427/
What do our habits say about us? Jesus expected his family to know where to find him. Even as a child, a pattern was laid for his character, identity, and concerns. The routines of his life spoke of who he was and fashioned a mold of what one might expect of him.
His parents missed the cues of what to expect, possibly because they were too wrapped up in their own established patterns of routine. Apparently, they had not paused long enough to think about where Jesus would be, and what he would be doing.
Early on, Jesus’ life had a pattern. From his bar mitzvah, this celebration event at which he became a son of the covenant and regarded as an adult before the law, a pattern was already set. He could already expect his parents to know where he would be and what he would be doing. His character and habits were established around his identity and relationship with God. This relationship had visible marks as it impacted where he went and what he did. It affected what others could and should expect of him, even if they often failed to expect what they should.
This was not the first time that Jesus failed to meet expectations. It was not the last time that the expectations of others regarding him were upended. What made the difference in his case was that others did not really understand God, nor the degree of dedication to serving God’s purposes exhibited in Jesus’ life. They expected less of him than they were seeing. They expected Jesus to be more like themselves than to continue in the pattern he had already established.
That is often the case with our expectations, is it not? We often expect less of others, instead of more. We are surprised when we find people who truly dedicate their lives to serve God. Perhaps we wish they were more like ourselves and thus held us to lesser standards. Perhaps we prefer to ignore the challenge their lives might place before our own experience and commitment to following Christ Jesus. Perhaps we look to Christ with the same dumbfounded response of his own parents who did not recognize that he would be found involved in the business of God.
While we might be tempted as they to recast Jesus more in line with our own ideals, attitudes, and aims, we must seek to find Jesus according to his true identity and character. The one who here does not follow the crowds home from the Temple, but remains to converse about the will, character, and identity of God, is the one who made his way not to the glory of a crown, but to the disgrace and shame of a cross. He is obviously to be found about his Father’s business and in his Father’s house, if we would but stop to consider who he is, we would find him.
Where can I be found? What do my habits, routines, and aims teach others to expect from me?
Determine how your habits need to adapt if love for God is to change your life. What would it take for friends and family to know to look for you going about the business of your Father?
“Lord, help me to see you for who you truly are, that I might carry on with your plans and purpose. May others know to find me seeking to embody your priorities, not of those of the crowd.”
—©Copyright 2009 Christopher B. Harbin http://www.sermonsearch.com/contributors/104427/
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