Luke 2: 40-52

And the child grew and became strong, filled with wisdom. And the favor of God was upon him. ⁴¹ Now his parents went to Jerusalem every year at the Feast of the Passover. ⁴² And when he was twelve years old, they went up according to custom. ⁴³ And when the feast was ended, as they were returning, the boy Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem. His parents did not know it, ⁴⁴ but supposing him to be in the group they went a day's journey, but then they began to search for him among their relatives and acquaintances, ⁴⁵ and when they did not find him, they returned to Jerusalem, searching for him. ⁴⁶ After three days they found him in the temple, sitting among the teachers, listening to them, and asking them questions. ⁴⁷ And all who heard him were amazed at his understanding and his answers. ⁴⁸ And when his parents saw him, they were astonished. And his mother said to him, “Son, why have you treated us so? Behold, your father and I have been searching for you in great distress.” ⁴⁹ And he said to them, “Why were you looking for me? Did you not know that I must be in my Father's house?” ⁵⁰ And they did not understand the saying that he spoke to them. ⁵¹ And he went down with them and came to Nazareth and was submissive to them. And his mother treasured up all these things in her heart. ⁵² And Jesus increased in wisdom and in stature and in favor with God and man.

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Have you searched for your keys only to discover they are in your hands?  Sometimes that which is not lost takes time to find.  It is in the right place, just not where you expect it.  The text says Mary and Joesph found Jesus after a frantic three-day search.  But Jesus was not lost.  He was in the right place, the temple; however, they did not expect to find Him there.  He was as the King James Version says in verse forty-nine, doing His “Father’s business.”  

They “found Him in the temple, sitting among the teachers, listening to them, and asking them questions.  And all who heard Him were amazed at His understanding and His answers.” (46-47) And why not?  God’s Son was a special person. At age twelve, Jesus was tending to His Father’s business, learning everything the Scriptures revealed about His mission.  Jesus understood perfectly that He would do battle with Satan and perfectly keep the Law His human brothers and sisters had failed to keep.  Jesus knew He would work miracles of love, heal the sick, and free those under the slavery of sin.  He knew He would gather a following, and that they would abandon Him.  Jesus knew His own people would reject Him, condemning Him, and that he would bear the full weight of mankind’s damnation and be forsaken by His Father and killed.  That was the Father’s business for Him.  Jesus knew all that about Himself from the Scriptures He discussed in the temple.  Jesus would take care of all that business, for us.

As we begin this New Year, it is a wonderful thing to remember that Jesus took care of His Father’s business for us. In Jesus you are not lost. God knows exactly where you are at because He is with you.  God knows where you are when He wants you for service in His kingdom.  He has seen to all our stresses, our sins, our hurts, our sicknesses, our worries of this world, and our fear about how God sees us by finishing every task God the Father gave Him to do.  And like a Father, God will be with us through all of these, as we go about our daily God-given business until the day we reach the eternity that will be free from every stress.  Jesus devoted His life, from infancy to boyhood to the cross to the empty tomb, for us.  Jesus is in His Father’s house, He is about His Father’s business, for us.  And you will never be lost again.

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