And He said to them, “Why did you seek Me? Did you not know that I must be about My Father’s business?” Luke 2:49
His parents were frantic! They had lost their twelve year old son - in the city! How were they going to explain to God that they had taken the Savior of the world to the city and LOST HIM!?!?
But Jesus wasn't lost. He was exactly where He was supposed to be - about His Father's business.
I've been struggling with this concept a bit this week. I didn't lose my son. I know where he is: he is in a foreign country far away from home without me! And he's been gone a whole week already, and he won't be back for another week!
This is a very strange turn of events for our family. We do EVERYTHING together. If you count from the outside walls and include the driver's area and engine compartment, we live in a 320 square foot house! You could say that we are (literally) a very close family... Four people, two dogs, maybe 280 square feet of actual living space... That's pretty close! So we are keenly aware when someone is missing. Not that it happens very often. I think we're all "homebodies" at heart - that's why we have to take the "house" with us everywhere we go!
So, when we began to talk about the possibilities of sending my seventeen year old son to Brazil alone, that was just a hard concept to grasp. He's never really gone anywhere alone. ...Maybe to a friend's house overnight when he was younger... across the field to a cabin at camp, but only when we were staying on the same property... It just hasn't been part of our experience to be apart from one another.
But the funny thing is, we're making it! I'm not really worried (most of the time!). When I was tempted to go down that road of worry the other day, the Lord reminded me that He had to let His Son go away for a while. And because He did, my life, and many others, have been impacted for eternity. He pointed me to the account of Jesus's visit to the temple in Luke 2, and reassured me with the matter-of-fact answer that Jesus gave to his worried parents: "I must be about my Father's business."
Nate will be back in a week, and I can't wait to see him! I want to hear all about what the Lord has done in him and through him! Though these have been difficult days for us, they have been days of wonder and excitement for him, doing what the Lord has called him to do.
So what's my son up to these days? He's about his Father's business. Can't argue with that!
...Just a thought...
