Have you ever gone through a time when Jesus seemed far away and you felt a bit lost? Perhaps this describes how you feel now. There may be many reasons for feeling this way but here is one to consider; it begins with a story you may recall, of the time Mary and Joseph lost Jesus for three days.
Luke 2:41-51 Now his parents went to Jerusalem every year at the feast of the Passover. And when he was twelve years old, they went up according to custom; and when the feast was ended, as they were returning, the boy Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem. His parents did not know it, but supposing him to be in the company they went a day's journey, and they sought him among their kinsfolk and acquaintances; and when they did not find him, they returned to Jerusalem, seeking him. After three days they found him in the temple, sitting among the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions; and all who heard him were amazed at his understanding and his answers. And when they saw him they were astonished; and his mother said to him, "Son, why have you treated us so? Behold, your father and I have been looking for you anxiously." And he said to them, "How is it that you sought me? Did you not know that I must be in my Father's house?" And they did not understand the saying which he spoke to them. And he went down with them and came to Nazareth, and was obedient to them; and his mother kept all these things in her heart. RSV
I cannot imagine the intensity of Joseph and Mary's efforts to find their twelve-year-old boy.
"Behold, your father and I have been looking for you anxiously."
But I can remember times in my life when a similar desperation to find Jesus consumed me. I just needed to find Him. And I needed to find him right then! With the increase of darkness, confusion, and instability in the world, the need to seek Him desperately is likely to increase. In this Gospel story, Jesus is offering us insight into who he is and where we can find him: In His Father's house.
There is a limit to how deep our understanding of and relationship with Jesus can go unless we know Jesus in relationship to His Father. Jesus may pull back His manifest presence from you so He can give you a greater gift: The gift of finding Him in the Father's house. At times the Father remains hidden, yet greater revelation awaits. The Father delights in seeing His children find things He has hidden so they can discover them. We are told: "Seek and you will find" Matthew 7:7. God offers us the joy of discovery. Get to know the Father and you will know the Son; get to know the Son and He will show you the Father. This is the work of the Holy Spirit in us, the Spirit of Jesus in us crying out in intimacy to the Father, ABBA. Both the Father and the Son dwell in us.
"Jesus answered him, 'If a man loves me, he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him'" John 14:23.
So how can we feel so distant or lost? Perhaps like Mary and Joseph you are looking in familiar places that He has moved on from. Sometimes we just go along with our life and we presume that the way things were in the past will remain the same. Since we are doing the same things in prayer, worship and service we assume we are walking with Him, only to discover that somewhere along the way He went in one direction and we went in another. We are reminded in Galatians 5:25 that if we are led by the spirit we need to "keep in step with the spirit." What Jesus said to Mary and Joseph is what He says to all of us who seek Him:
"Did you not know that I must be in my Father's house?" Mary and Joseph did not understand.
Do you understand?
Jesus is saying: you know where to find me. I am with the Father.
A good place to begin your search is to pray a simple prayer like: Lord I do not understand what I do not know, but I believe your word, and with the apostle Philip I pray: show me the Father and then I will be satisfied.
That pretty much captures my journey to the Father. First I did not know I needed him. Then Jesus seemed so far away, in seeking Him I discovered I did not know the Father. Facing my emptiness, I became desperate. I did not understand how I could know Him. Then Jesus healed my broken heart and I encountered the Father, beginning a life-long journey. Now I know that at every stage of life there are new discoveries of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit and their workings in my life.
Jesus was in the temple listening and asking questions. This is our position, too, in the Father's house. Only when we seek and ask will we be able to respond like Jesus, with understanding and wisdom. Ask the Holy Spirit to allow you to speak to the Father the deepest questions of your heart.
Read more about my journey to the Father in a book I wrote with my son, Abba's Heart. It was written as a resource to use in prayer as you seek a deeper relationship with the Father.
