“And He went down with them and came to Nazareth, and He continued in subjection to them; and His mother treasured all these things in her heart. And Jesus kept increasing in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and men.” Luke 2:51-52 (NAS)
In today’s scriptural passage, Luke informs us that from childhood Jesus lived a normal life, grew up in a normal family, learned and gained wisdom in the normal way, worshipped in a normal manner, developed a close relationship with God in a normal world, gained influence in a normal community. In the Bible, there is no hint of his life being abnormal in any way. His perfectly normal childhood was lived in a home where God was honored. His1st century Jewish home prepared him to obey God’s will. And he submitted himself under the authority of his earthly parents. His submission to normal parents in a normal community of the normal world caused him to enjoy favor with both God and normal human beings.
Today is the one hundred seventy-ninth (179) day of 2008. Half the year has slipped into history. “Ain’t it funny how time slips away?” Where has it gone? It has gone the way of normal life. What have we done while it was slipping by? We have lived our lives in the normal course of living. “Yesterday is gone. Today I’m in need.” Instead of berating ourselves over failures and so forth, we might ask more pertinent questions: Are we growing in wisdom? In our normal lives, do we enjoy the favor of God and those around us?
Dear Father, thank you for Jesus Christ, our Savior and friend. Empower us to live our individual, normal lives in such a manner that we may achieve your will. This I pray in the name of Jesus. AMEN
Be encouraged today in the presence of God in your normal life,