The Father's business

St. Joseph the Carpenter by Georges de la Tour

TODAY’S SPECIAL: Luke 2:41-52

TO CHEW ON: “And He said to them, ‘Why did you seek Me? Did you not know that I must be about My Father’s business?’” Luke 2:49

I wonder if these words of Jesus, “Did you not know that I must be about My Father’s business?’ sent a pang through His earthly father Joseph’s heart. Did they drive home again the fact that, even at this early age, Jesus was not truly ‘his’ – even as our kids aren’t ‘ours’?

The reaction of Jesus to His parents reminds me of something Oswald Chambers says: 

"Are we going to remain loyal in our obedience to God and go through the humiliation of refusing to be independent, or are we going to take the other line and say--I will not cost other people suffering? .... if we obey God, He will look after those who have been pressed into the consequences of our obedience. We have simply to obey and to leave all consequences to Him. Beware of the inclination to dictate to God as to what you will allow to happen if you obey Him" - Oswald Chambers, My Utmost for His Highest, January 11th reading.

So much for others’ obedience resulting in our inconvenience. What about the personal cost of being about the Father’s business? It is wide-ranging. Jesus’ words, “I do not seek my own will but the will of the Father Who sent me” (John 5:30), reverberate all the way down to us: “As the Father has sent Me, I also send you.” John 20:21

A sidebar article in my Bible says:

"Yielding to His call in the pragmatics of daily living means that we recognize His purpose for us during times we would otherwise seek indulgence for our self-interests or run from the demanding implications of His leading at a given moment (ouch!)… it is not ours to excuse ourselves from our places of service but to choose His choice, that is to say, His choice is my choice, my consecration to Him.”- Fuchsia Pickett, New Spirit Filled Life Bible page 1390.

PRAYER: Dear God, help me understand what a privilege it is to be busy doing Father-God business. I pray with the psalm-writer, “Take my eyes away from looking at worthless things and revive me in Your way” (Psalm 119:37) today. Amen.

MORE: "Hear the Call of the Kingdom" - Keith and Kristyn Getty