Where are you going?
A few years ago while on vacation I found a rack of humorous little signs for sale. One caught my eye so I bought it. It said, "I have no idea where I’m going". It kind of fit for me at the time. It was a period of my life when I was struggling with who I am and with a lack of purpose and direction.
In this passage in Luke, even as a twelve-year-old boy, Jesus definitely did not struggle with a lack of purpose, direction or understanding of who he was. Having left his parents without their knowledge, they find him after four days sitting among the teachers in the Temple, asking questions and listening.
Eugene Peterson in the Message describes what happens next: "Young man, why have you done this to us? Your father and I have been half out of our minds looking for you". Jesus responded, "Why were you looking for me? Didn’t you know that I had to be here, dealing with the things of my Father?"
No, Jesus did not struggle with who he was or what his purpose was, but others did. His parents although devout - They had Jesus circumcised on the eighth day; They dedicated him at the Temple; They went to Jerusalem every year for the Feast of the Passover – yet still didn’t understand him.
Really though, that’s not surprising because he was not understood throughout his life. Not only did his parents not understand him, but also his closest friends, the disciples, didn’t either. The people that spent the most time with him, looking for purpose in their own lives, didn’t get it.
So as you ask yourself the question, "Who am I and where am I going?" think about Jesus. Meditate on Him. He is our true North. In Him, we discover who we are. In Him, we find purpose and direction for our lives.
Then like Jesus, we can respond, "Why were you looking for me? Didn’t you know that I had to be here, dealing with the things of my Father?"
Read the lesson here.
Listen to the lesson here.
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