And when he was twelve years old, they went up to
Jerusalem after the custom of the feast. And when they had fulfilled the
days, as they returned, the child Jesus tarried behind in Jerusalem; and
Joseph and his mother knew not of it. But they, supposing him to have
been in the company, went a day's journey; and they sought him among their
kinsfolk and acquaintance. And when they found him not, they turned back
again to Jerusalem, seeking him. And it came to pass, that
after three days they found him in the temple, sitting in the midst
of the doctors, both hearing them, and asking them questions. And all that
heard him were astonished at his understanding and answers. And when they
saw him, they were amazed: and his mother said unto him, Son, why
hast thou thus dealt with us? behold, thy father and I have sought thee
sorrowing. And he said unto them, How is it that ye sought me? wist ye not
that I must be about my Father's business? And they understood not
the saying which he spake unto them. And he went down with them, and came
to Nazareth, and was subject unto them: but his mother kept all these
sayings in her heart. And Jesus increased in wisdom and stature,
and in favour with God and man. -Luke 2:42-52
I don't know if you have ever had the experience of a child
missing for a while or not, but it is a very horrifying experience, to say
the least. I have experienced it several times, and there are a couple of
those times I’d just as soon never repeat.
Thinking of one that relates to this story, I digress.
We were traveling one morning to West Union, OH where I was pastoring a
church, and had stopped by a gas station to refuel. My son, who was
a little tyke at that time, had, unbeknownst to us, hopped out of the
back of the van because he needed to go to the restroom. I was pumping
gas, my wife had run inside for something, and my daughter had stayed in
the van. I briefly remembered seeing him get out of the van, but thought he had returned. We hopped in the van and headed on our
one-hour journey to West Union.
We all assumed he had gotten back in the vehicle, and
none of us checked. He was notorious for climbing behind the last seat in
the van and lying down for the trip. He was little enough to sleep
just about anywhere. We were about 20-25 minutes down the road, and for some
reason, his name came up. My wife called his name, and he didn’t respond.
We asked my daughter to check behind the seat to verify he was asleep and
indeed behind the seat. To our surprise, he was not in the van. Panic set
in as we began to frantically try to remember when we last saw him.
Being a quiet-natured kid, it was easy for him to be present but
unnoticed. My mind began to race, my wife was praying, and we were all
horrified at the possibilities of things that could happen to a lost kid.
To add to our stress, we were out of cell service.
I immediately turned around and went back to find him.
I remember my mind was paralyzed with fear. I had to will myself to
actually think it through and try to retrace our
steps that morning. “Had I seen him even get in the
van before we left the house? Had he fallen out somewhere and we
hadn’t noticed? Did I leave at the gas station?” It suddenly occurred to
me when I thought about the station that I vaguely saw him in my
peripheral vision go inside the gas station. I called the station and the
authorities once in cell service and asked them if they saw my son, to
remain with him, and I was on the way. Thankfully, he was at the station and
had seen us pull out. He figured we’d eventually notice and return to
get him. We drove back to the station and found him waiting in one piece
with a police officer, and all was well, thank God! We chuckle every now
and then about it, but at that moment, it was far from funny.
Not to fault Mary and Joseph, but I have never been able
to figure out how they went three days before noticing Jesus was
gone. Perhaps kidnappings were not as prevalent back then, or the band of
familial travelers was so populated that they thought he was somewhere
safe, talking to someone. I still can’t comprehend a three-day journey before realizing Jesus wasn’t in the crowd. One day, I
hope to have an answer.
When I think of this story, I think of something even
more bizarre and frightening. I wonder how many people will get to
the end of their road and be hit with the shocking realization that Jesus
wasn’t with them like they thought he was. They supposed him to be close
by. They supposed him to be in their life. Someone told them that he was
in their heart if they just believed. Someone had them repeat a
man-made prayer and just accept it by faith.
“Wherefore the rather, brethren, give diligence
to make your calling and election sure: for if ye do these things, ye shall
never fall:”- 2 Peter 2:10
We are to make sure of our calling with diligence. I don’t
want to hope Jesus is with me, I don’t want to suppose he’s in my life, I
want to KNOW for sure he’s in my heart. Jesus wants you to know for sure
he abides in you!! That is why he gave us the gift of the
Holy Ghost!! His spirit will baptize us according to his word, and he
will speak through us, just like the voice spoke out of Heaven at the
Baptism of Jesus! It will be a sad day for some who stand before the
judgment seat, having supposed they were ready to meet God!
Consider the words of Christ:
"Not every one that saith unto me, Lord,
Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my
Father which is in heaven. Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we
not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy
name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew
you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity."-Matthew 7:21-23
These people were doing wonderful works in the name of
Jesus. They supposed he was with them. They supposed he was working with
them and they had his favor. They never took the time to get to the altar and
check. The word “know” is a Biblical word that refers to intimacy.
This group never took time to know the Lord and to walk with him in Spirit
and in Truth, as is recorded in John Chapter 4. I don’t want any surprises
on judgment day. I want to know I’m holding his hand and he’s
holding mine.
It turned out ok with Mary and Joseph that day when they
found him in the temple. It turned out ok with my family when we finally
relocated my son. However, don’t be one of those who suppose God is
walking with you only to get a big surprise when you cross over into
eternity! Eternity is way too long to be wrong!! You can know of a surety
that God is with you when you allow him to fill you with his precious
Spirit and you live a daily life of reconnecting with him through the
power of His Spirit! Jesus said, “My sheep, know my voice and another they
will not hear!”
Get to know the voice of Jesus so you can avoid an eternal
surprise that you wish you’d never experienced. In Jesus' name!