by Marilyn Ehle
“He said to them, “How is it that you had to look for Me? Did you not see and know that it is necessary [as a duty] for Me to be in My Father’s house and [occupied] about My Father’s business?” Luke 2:49 (Amplified Bible)
History abounds with stories of successful people who learned the family business by working alongside parents or others, learning “from the ground up.” My husband talks about how he learned from his dad to pull wires through conduit in the electrical trade. (He also learned to keep fingers and tools away from objects “hot” with electricity!) Those learning a business, especially in the building trades, work years under the supervision of an expert. They observe their mentors, study facts and work in practical situations.
Those of us well acquainted with the Christian tradition easily forget that Jesus spent 30 years “learning the business.” We read the story of Jesus’ experience in the Temple with religious leaders and may assume that He was teaching them. But most scholars agree that Jesus’ position would have been in the style and manner of a learner. True, the rabbis were “astonished and bewildered at His intelligence and understanding,” but since—as He would frequently say later—“His time had not yet come,” after that scene in the Temple “…he went down to Nazareth with (His parents) and was obedient to them… As Jesus grew up, He increased in wisdom and in favor with God and people.”
We too must spend extended time learning the business of what it means to be a Christ follower, an apprentice of Jesus. God lays out facts to follow and gives us time to work out those facts in the arena of Kingdom living. We observe the One who lived and worked and talked in real time to learn how to build relationships and complete the mandate He gave.
And, perhaps most comforting when the arena seems fraught with the lions of discouragement and despair, when we wonder if we will ever understand “the business,” we cling to the words, “We do not have a High Priest Who is unable to understand and sympathize and have a shared feeling with our weaknesses and infirmities…but One Who has been tempted in every respect as we are, yet without sinning. (Hebrews 4:15, Amplified Bible)
You can comment on this devotional online at:
http://thoughtsaboutgod.com/blog/2011/09/25/me_learning-the-business/
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Short Thoughts for Cell Phones – God-daily.com
