Luke #28 – How to be a Great Kid and an Excellent Christian

Luke #28 – How to be a Great Kid and an Excellent Christian

“And He went down with them, and came to Nazareth, and was subject unto them: but His mother kept all these sayings in her heart. And Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favour with God and man” (Luke 2:51-52 – King James Version).

Trying to get me in line as a kid was like trying to get a knot to go with the grain. Looking back now I wished I had given my parents less grief. Hindsight is exactly what they call it…twenty-twenty. I would do stupid things just to aggravate my dad. He hated for someone to sit in his recliner right before he got into it, so naturally I’d sit in it. He’d bellow, “Get out of my chair! You’re making it hot!” (I still do that to my dad, but it’s to be funny not rebellious now.) “Don’t smoke; it’ll kill you!” he might say. What did I do? Smoke, of course, reaching four packs a day before I quit. He went away for the weekend one time and before dad left he said, “Don’t touch my truck except to wash it.” Of course, you guessed it, I went mudding on it. I did wash it, but only after I’d gotten it dirty. I could tell you a million stories; some funny, some sad, and some that make me feel ashamed down to my bones. I was not an obedient child. Whew…I tell you one thing, looking at those two little girls of mine makes me awfully scared when I know the Bible says you reap what you sow.

Today’s passage is another one of those that gives us a peek into what the smart folk call “Jesus’ silent years.” Those years are the years between His early life and the time His public ministry began. We see here very clearly what Jesus did during those years. He obeyed His mom and Joseph and grew. Jesus grew in four ways: in wisdom (mentally); in stature (physically); in favor with God (spiritually); and in favor with man (socially). That is a list that would keep most any person busy!

A few things: read the Scripture carefully. You will never find an independent spirit in Christ Jesus. He was most interested in God’s will. Part of God’s will is being subject to our parents. Though Jesus was God in the flesh, He felt no need to assert Himself over His parents. The only time He did was the two three times that His family did not understand what He was doing…it is important to note that those three times were times He was directly in His Father’s will. Those three times were when He was in the temple at age twelve, when Mary wanted Jesus to make more wine, and when Mary and Jesus’ brothers wanted to get through a crowd to see Him. (I am not telling you where to find those references! Do the work!) Also note this; Jesus was not rebelling in those times, rather He was simply about His Father’s business. Children need to heed Jesus’ example. If it was good enough for Jesus, then it should be good enough for us too. AND, Christians should be careful to remember that we are God’s children and to take the example of our Savior to heart as well. Today’s society seems to appreciate independent spirits. God honors obedient children. Which is your desire? Do you want to be honored by the world today and humbled by God later OR humbled before God today and rejected or misunderstood by the world? Choose carefully dear friend.

Secondly, every Christian person would do well to remember that our first ministry, most important ministry and most blessed ministry is to be the home. Whether you are a young person reading this or a parent or a spouse the most important thing you can do is take care of business at home. Don’t you forget that friend, not for anything.

Third; spend your time making your mind stronger. Romans 12:2 tells us to renew our mind daily. Spend your time making your body healthier. God gave you a horse and a message. Don’t kill the horse before you deliver the message. Spend your time growing spiritually by tending to the things of God. Spend your time being winsome to the world around you. Folks are regular dying and going to hell everyday; we need to be attractive (truly, not putting on a show) so that they may see the Christ in us. Mary watched every thing Jesus did and “kept” those things in her “heart”. A lost world is watching each of us every day.

Attend to all of these things and you can pretty much bet that you will not find stories of your life written in The New York Times, but you will be a great kid and an excellent Christian. I cannot go back and undo my rebellious childhood. Neither can you. What I can do is live like the changed man Christ has made me into. So here begins a new day of sowing. I pray to God that tomorrow is a better day of reaping.