Traveling On...

“Thinking he was in their company, they traveled on for a day. Then they began looking for him…When they did not find him, they went back to Jerusalem to look for him…When his parents saw him, they were astonished. ‘Son, why have you treated us like this? Your father and I have been anxiously searching for you…’ ‘Did you not know that I must be about my Father’s business?’” Luke 2:46-49

When my sisters and I were little children my mom and dad would take two cars to church each Sunday. My dad would arrive early to make last minute ‘tweaks’ on the Sunday School lessons he would teach. It was not just one time when one of the four girls would be left at church with each parent thinking they were with the other. We have all experienced this scenario if we have been placed in charge of a small child whether our own or someone else’s. There is nothing more gut wrenching than to realize we have been separated by someone for whom we were supposed to care for, watch over and protect. We cannot be too hard on the parents of Jesus as it was common to travel in caravans. They assumed he was walking with others within the same group much like my family’s experience.

We have also experienced this on a spiritual level as we ‘travel on.’ Many times we make decisions about our lives thinking that Jesus is our company but then at some point look around and notice He is not there. We could have sworn we saw Him at certain stops along the way but we realize it was not Him. We desperately and anxiously search for Him as we learn of our blunder and detour from His will. My commentary states, ‘In order to re-establish contact with Him, we must go back to the place where fellowship was broken.” p. 1376.

It is only then when we can be sure that Jesus is traveling on with us in mind, body and spirit. We will know with certainty when we see Him ‘being about His Father’s business’ in bringing us around to the will and purpose of God.

When we discover that Jesus is missing from our caravan of circumstances we can be certain of where to find Him. We can usually retrace our steps and find Jesus.