Luke 2:40-51

And the child grew, and waxed strong in spirit, filled with wisdom: and the grace of God was upon him. Now his parents went to Jerusalem every year at the feast of the passover. And when he was twelve years old, they went up to Jerusalem after the custom of the feast.

 And when they had fulfilled the days, as they returned, the child Jesus tarried behind in Jerusalem; and Joseph and his mother knew not of it. But they, supposing him to have been in the company, went a day’s journey; and they sought him among their kinsfolk and acquaintance. And when they found him not, they turned back again to Jerusalem, seeking him. And it came to pass, that after three days they found him in the temple, sitting in the midst of the doctors, both hearing them, and asking them questions. And all that heard him were astonished at his understanding and answers.

 And when they saw him, they were amazed: and his mother said unto him, Son, why hast thou thus dealt with us? behold, thy father and I have sought thee sorrowing. And he said unto them, How is it that ye sought me? wist ye not that I must be about my Father’s business? And they understood not the saying which he spake unto them. 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.

Do you see it? Jesus was twelve when they went to Jerusalem for the Passover and might have become a man, Bar Mitzvah’d, before His parents left to return home.

Another telling sign here is that they did not find him for three days.

What else can we glean from these scriptures?

1 Chronicles 15:13 For because ye did it not at the first, the Lord our God made a breach upon us, for that we sought him not after the due order.

I sought the Lord to bring a sense of God moving in our lives. He is active and real and initiates all blessings, glory and honor. Why is it that we do not see that? What went wrong? What are we to do about it?

Consider that God is at work around you at all times. He invites us to be part of that work, He has set it before us. This from 2^nd John; For the truth’s sake, which dwelleth in us, and shall be with us for ever. That, as ye have heard from the beginning, ye should walk in it.

God is on the move and if we do not respond to that which He has set before us, He moves on. When we do not walk in that moment, a breach is created. Not that God caused the breach, but that by not responding we created the breach.

How do we fix it?

1 Chronicles 15:14 So the priests and the Levites sanctified themselves to bring up the ark of the Lord God of Israel.

We sanctify ourselves, separate ourselves from anything and everything that keeps us from following after the covenant of Jesus Christ.

For some that sounds drastic. That is because we desire to hold on to worldly cares and concerns more than to follow God. This chapter of 1^st Chronicles ends with David dancing and playing before the Ark in the streets. The very last line indicates his wife Michal despised him in her heart. His wife, flesh of his flesh, hated him for this.

The flesh hates it when you do the right thing.