“We must work the works of Him who sent Me as long as it is day; night is coming when no one can work.”
John 9:4
Perhaps, as a parent, you have felt the frantic anxiety of looking for a lost son or daughter who wandered off in a store or an enormous shopping mall. In the not too distant past, parents did not have the luxury of mobile technology, unlike parents today who can call, text, or even geolocate their kids to know right where they are in seconds. No doubt, Mary and Joseph would have liked to have such technology when they were looking for Jesus, who was missing at age 12.
Luke recorded when Joseph, Mary, and Jesus were in Jerusalem for the annual Feast of the Passover. While on their way home, Joseph and Mary noticed that Jesus was not with them, nor was he with other members in the group, but instead, He was missing. Since they were traveling with family and friends, it was easy for the absence of a 12-year old boy to go unnoticed in those days. So the frantic parents set out for Jerusalem to look for Him.
Joseph and Mary found Him sitting in the temple, talking with the teachers who were amazed by His understanding. When Mary asked Him why He had done this, Jesus replied, “Why is it that you were looking for me, did you not know I must be about my Father’s business?” (New King James Version, Luke 2:49).
If Jesus was so ready at age 12 to be about His Father’s business, why are there so many Christians today who are less than eager to be about our Father’s business? What is our Father’s business? Our Father is in the business of spiritual restoration. His desire is for no one to perish but for all to come to repentance (2 Peter 3:9).
How does one come to repentance? It begins with hearing the gospel message and the inward convicting work of the Holy Spirit in the hearts of those who are spiritually lost. You see, the convicting power of the gospel is the Holy Spirit’s job, the willingness to be obedient and share the good news is the job of each disciple.
Jesus instructs those who choose to follow Him as His disciples to go and make other disciples. Jesus said, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age” (Matt. 28:18-20).
We must be motivated like Jesus was at age 12 to be about our Father’s business. We must eagerly seek out the lost to share the good news of salvation and how much God loves them. Apostle Paul spoke to the importance of our mission at hand. He wrote: “How then will they call on Him in whom they have not believed? How will they believe in Him, whom they have not heard? And how will they hear without a preacher.” (Rom. 10:14).
Be encouraged to take a step of faith and ask God to point you to people who need to hear the message of salvation and to use you as His spokesperson.
Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture is taken from the New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission.
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