Denton County Living Well Magazine November/December 2017 | Page 18

E
No Better
Place to Be
very year Jesus’ parents went to Jerusalem for the
Passover. When Jesus was 12, they attended the
festival as usual. After the celebration was over,
they started home to Nazareth, but Jesus stayed
behind in Jerusalem. His parents didn’t miss him
at first, because they assumed he was among the other
travelers. But when he didn’t show up that evening, they
started looking for him among their relatives and friends.
When they couldn’t find him, they went back to Je-
rusalem to search for him there. Three days later
they finally discovered him in the Temple, sitting
among the religious teachers, listening to them
and asking questions. All who heard him were
amazed at his understanding and his answers.
His parents didn’t know what to think. “Son,” his mother
said to him, “why have you done this to us? Your father
and I have been frantic, searching for you everywhere.”
“But why did you need to search?” he asked. “Didn’t
you know that I must be in my Father’s house?”
But they didn’t understand what he meant.
This story reveals that even as a child Jesus recognized
His life was consecrated or set apart for exclusive use
of His Father. He said, “I only do what I see my Father
do; I only say what I hear my Father say.” The result was
that people marveled, they were in awe and wonder.
Comedian, Michael Jr., relates the story through Mary
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DENTON COUNTY Living Well Magazine | NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2017
and Joseph’s eyes. “When Jesus was 12 years old,
Mary and Joseph lost Jesus. They lost Jesus! You know
the first thing they had to do was pray. I wonder what
that prayer must have sounded like? Joseph probably
said the prayer. He was like, ‘Oh God, dear God,
Oh forgiving God…Um, You remember that Mes-
siah you gave us? You got another somewhere man,
cuz we don’t…That was the only begotten son?! Ok,
we’re gonna find him, we’re gonna find him!’”
The truth is, Jesus was never lost because he was always
in the center of his Father’s will. The safest and best place
to be is in the will of God. Does that exempt us from ex-
periencing pain or struggles? No! Jesus said, in this world
you will have trouble! But, take heart, because He has
overcome the world! In other words, when we’re found
in Him the redemptive plan of God is always at work.
Joseph’s brothers threw him under the bus by selling him
into slavery. He could have been bitter, however he under-
stood God had a plan. He said, what his brother’s meant
for evil, God meant for good, for the saving of many lives.
What if we looked at all things through this
lens? It might not make it easier. But it would
give us greater hope and so much peace.
While on a trip to Vietnam I visited a government run
orphanage. The atrocities I saw left me undone! Dis-
abled children tied to beds, others left in chairs be-
cause of the lack of caregivers. I happened upon one