Dec 7th, 2020: Christmas Blessing - Being Patient while Having Faith

 A Response To Christians Who Are Done With Church - CareyNieuwhof.com

Have you ever thought about how hard it was for Mary and Joseph to raise Jesus as a boy? There is very little was written about Jesus' life growing up, so I can only speculate, and I cannot quote many Scripture passages because there is not too much. So please bear with me. 

It is not easy to raise a child who determines what he (she) wants to be. It is even more challenging when he (she) thinks that his parents don't know as much as he does. That doesn't mention the fact he (she) doesn't think he belongs to you. He (she) has some other better and more important plans for his life. Humanly, that can be frustrating. Dealing with that demands a lot of patience and understanding.

The Bible tells us that Jesus continued to increase in wisdom and stature. When he was 12, he stayed behind in Jerusalem after the Passover Festival and did not return home with his parents. They went back and finally found him after three days of searching for him. He was sitting among the teachers in the temple court, listening and asking questions. His parents were upset that he didn't tell them where he was and what he was doing. Here was his first question for them after they let him know that they were looking everywhere for him: "Why were you searching for me? Didn't you know that I have to be at my father's house?" Well, what would we do if we were in Mary and Joseph's position? Especially, we don't fully grasp what Jesus was about in terms of his life?

They ought to have immense patience and faith while living through those years with him even though he was an obedient son. It is not about knowing but believing. It was about remembering what the angel told them at his birth as well. One of the special blessings of Christmas is the ability to be patient when we cannot have the answers to all of our questions about life. Being patient and having faith go together.

 “But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart.” - Luke 2:19
“‘Why were you searching for me?’ he asked. ‘Didn’t you know I had to be in my Father’s house?’ But they did not understand what he was saying to them. Then he went down to Nazareth with them and was obedient to them. But his mother treasured all these things in her heart.” - Luke 2:49-51

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