The POWER LIST of Jesus' maturing
begins in Luke 2:40 and then continues to the end of the chapter. The
impatient attitudes that you and I so often have to wrestle with,
prompts us to skip to the last verse and somehow expect to see the
rainbow of answers we seek; those answers so badly needed to minister
to the youth in our neighborhood, or maybe even under our own roof.
I WILL WARN YOU! This is not the right
time to skip anything. God has inspired Luke, the physician and
writer of the gospel book that bears his name, to write these words
that have been protected by God, down through the ages. Don't skip,
just search and savor and store and share.
Verse 40 begins with “And the child
grew...” Now that doesn't sound like much. But do you see that it
is at the beginning of the list (to the chapter end). “Law of First
Mention,” suggests we should pay particular attention to “grew.”
This little four-letter word has the powerful job of drawing our
attention to the fact that Jesus went through a maturing cycle that
most every young person does. He wasn't the divine son of God that
was plopped right into the Jewish community.
Now I don't know if Jesus ever had a
tooth ache, a skinned knee, or some bullies that taunted him.
Actually I don't want to know. My response is to simply know that
Jesus was exposed to all the evil that most every teen has... yet he
did not sin. Notice why these 'skinned knee' details are omitted. God
doesn't want us to be sidetracked with little details, and not relish
the next attribute. Are you ready for this?
The next attribute of Jesus is
described with four words, not just a four-letter word. “waxed
strong in spirit.” When I see the word 'waxed' I think of
strengthening, of preserving, of sealing something that is valuable
to me. I really drink in the importance of dealing with the 'spirit',
listed here. I am to preserve my strong spiritual character, as I
mature and become more Christ-like.
“Filled with wisdom” is the next in
our Power List. Notice it doesn't say 'knowledge' or 'data' or
'facts'. It specifically says 'wisdom'. That's the ability to
properly and lovingly use that knowledge. Was Jesus satisfied with
just the average amount of wisdom? You know, just enough to get by?
Wow! Look at that word, “FILLED”. Discuss with those youth you
minister to, to describe what that “FILLED” really means. How did
Jesus get FILLED? How do we get FILLED? How are we different when
we're FILLED?
The fourth factor in Jesus' maturing is
maybe the best. “and the grace of God was upon him.” This is
another one of those attributes that doesn't give any details. It's
like the “grew” that we started with. God's grace doesn't have a
part number, or a manufacturing blueprint. It's a gift we don't earn
(and don't deserve either.) God's grace is tailored to just exactly
what our all knowing God is sure we need. His grace for us today may
be different that it was for us last Thursday, or when we were trying
to find the words to tell that teen about His bountiful love.
The important thing to desire each and
every day, is God's grace and that it be upon us, in a way that
magnifies Him, strengthens church folks, and empowers us to reach out
to discouraged hearts around us. God's grace helps us look past the
unusual appearances and unexpected actions we, at first, don't feel
comfortable around. Reach out with compassion, but first reach up
with expectation and trust.
Next time, we'll take a good look at
some of Jesus' schooling. You'll hardly believe what happened!
