I wrote this last summer and was again encouraged by the Word of God! – Tassie Phifer
The summer sometimes steals my sense of purpose. The heat and limitations that accompany it can leave me weary and listless. But the Word of God is like shade in the desert- it protects and renews.
“And he said to them, ‘Why were you looking for me? Did you not know that I must be in my Father’s house?’” Luke 2:49
I have been studying these first words recorded from the mouth of twelve year old Jesus. Some translations say, “…I must be about my Father’s business.” But literally it means, “I must be in the things that are my Father’s.” I have been pondering that and asking myself how can I, like Jesus, be in the things that are my Father’s?
Does that mean only the things labeled as “ministry” count?
Do I have to be a pastor?
The rest of the gospels show an expansive view of what these things are. He starts his life in poverty and he learns a trade and works with his hands and affirms the value of work. He starts his ministry at a wedding and ends it with a death, resurrection and ascension. And in between he heals, he teaches, he celebrates, he mourns, he submits and he sacrifices. Jesus lived a full life in his thirty plus years- it was full of the boring and monotonous, the people who tempted him to stress and anger, and work that never ended and joy that was probably expressed in laugh attacks. It was easy days and days he barely made it through. And then he faced the inevitable death that all humans face. He did it all with joy and purpose and I think he could have that joy because he knew it was ALL part of his Father’s business. Every person he interacted with was part of his Father’s business. All the toil he set his hands to and the prayers he prayed were his Father’s work. And because HE did all this, I CAN TOO. I can view it ALL through the lens of purpose and joy.
Some days I feel like I can barely finish the day and all I want is the oblivion of rest but there are days I can count it all joy. I can see that all the clothes I fold for the seven of us is part of the business of the Father because these people are the business of the Father. I see that endless dishes under foaming suds are part of His business. I can see that my walks and chats with my neighbors have purpose because they are the business of the Father’s. I see that my sacrifice no one sees, God sees and he is pleased because I, like Jesus, am in the things that are my Father’s.
Be encouraged today! Jesus knows what living means. He knows it feels tedious and painful and unfruitful because he is a High Priest who experienced every temptation we experience. He has compassion for you AND the strength you need to live boldly and fully.
