A treasure hunter

Luke 2:48-51: “So when they saw Him, they were amazed; and His mother said to Him, ‘Son, why have You done this to us? Look, Your father and I have sought You anxiously.’ 49 And He said to them, ‘Why did you seek Me? Did you not know that I must be about My Father's business?’ 50 But they did not understand the statement which He spoke to them. 51 Then He went down with them and came to Nazareth , and was subject to them, but His mother kept all these things in her heart.

Mary was a treasure hunter. Ever since the angel Gabriel visited her and announced that, she was going to be the Mother of the Messiah, she began treasuring things that had happened, and things she had seen; she locked them in her heart and pondered them. She meditated on the good things that God had blessed her to be apart of. Jesus was 12 years old now and the entire family made the pilgrimage to Jerusalem to worship God in the manner which was the custom. While there, some confusion arose about who was looking after Jesus. The family packed up their caravan and left Jerusalem to go back home, and Jesus was left behind. When the parents realized that Jesus was not with the relatives, they went back and searched Him out. What they found was astonishing for them. They found Jesus in the Temple. He was not found in the streets, or wandering around the market place, but rather He was in the middle of the Temple teaching.

When she found Him, Mary franticly ran to Him and said, “Son, why have You done this to us? Look, your father and I have sought You anxiously." She was scared! Not only was this the “Messiah,” it was her baby boy! She was a mother who was worried over her son. However, Jesus’ answer was startling, He said, “Why did you seek Me? Did you not know that I must be about My Father's business?" Jesus was clear that His responsibility was to be doing the Father’s business. A child of 12 years old would not feel safe and secure on the streets of even an ancient Jerusalem. However, in the Temple of God, teaching God’s word to His people was the place where He needed to be. Mary heard this and kept all these things in her heart.

Remembering the things that God does for us is a special form of worship. It has two purposes; the first is that it tells Him how much we appreciate the things He does for us. It is a form of praise and worship, that we acknowledge the good things from God. In addition, the second purpose it has is it helps us through the hard times and raging storms in our life. We remember the times when God gets us through the frantic mistake of leaving our precious child behind in a strange place, just as Mary did. It further reminds us of the Joy of the reuniting that came when she threw her arms around Him. So, when the storm of seeing her son all grown up as a man, hanging on a bloody rugged cross, she can dig down deep and have the blessed hope that reunion that will happen again. She will have to trust God with every fiber of her being, but God had blessed her before, and He will bless her once more.

We as Christians must learn to treasure the things of God in our hearts today. We must remember the Victories so when defeats come they will be softened. We need to remember the times God got us through the storms of life, we need to sharpen our faith, because while we are here on this earth there will be storms and trials, mountain tops and valleys.

Tomorrows Readings:
Old Testament: Josh 9-10 New Testament Luke 3