After all, they were the parents of Jesus, and so he had to be with them. As his parents, they should know everything about him, including his interest, so they assumed he was still with them on their journey. Yes, for as long as they were around his Father’s business, he was with them.
‘You see, Jesus can only be found around his father’s business.’
So, as usual, he was in his father’s business, but they had left the direction of his Father’s business, so he did not go with them. They left because it was necessary but did not know that sometimes even the necessary step is not the right step as long as Jesus is concerned. It wasn’t until they went back to the path of the Father’s business that they found him again.
Dear friends, many people on this Christian journey travel alone while assuming that Jesus is with them.
Jesus will be with you for as long as you are traveling on his Father’s business path. But the moment you start to move away from it, he won’t be with you anymore, as is the case of many Christians. The sad part of it is that they do not know that Jesus is no longer with them, and they are journeying in assumption.
As a result of this, sin begins to creep back into their life unknown to them; they can tell just a little lie, they’re able to commit just a little evil, and sometimes they wonder why their life has begun to change. When Jesus is no longer with us, we start to create loopholes for the devil, and he starts to penetrate our lives, reintroducing his fruits and his works that are unknown to the Christian.
This continues until it worsens, but if only the Christian traces his steps back to Jesus just like his parents did, he can find him again.
The Bible says, ‘how can a young man keep his way? How do I ensure that I am traveling toward his Father’s business? By taking heed to the word of God. You can ensure that your path is in the line of the Father’s business by constantly exposing yourself to the Word of God, allowing your words, actions, and decisions to be affected or directed by the Word of God.
Decisions directed by the Word of God are always in line with the direction where Jesus is going, and therefore if you can live under the guidance of the Word of God and seek His face in everything you do, if you can obey His commands, you can never go wrong. You will always behave the presence of Jesus with you.
But the moment you stop allowing the Word of God to guide you, the moment we decide to take charge of our own lives, we begin to travel in the opposite direction, and that is where we start to lose His presence.
So dear friends, the Bible said, ‘examine yourself and see whether you are still in the faith’.
I want to advise every one of us to keep reassessing our lives, search for the presence of Jesus, make sure that we are getting it right, and make sure that his presence is still with us. If, for any reason, you discover that his company is no longer with you, please begin to retrace your steps back to Him because it is only in Him we live and have our being. It is only in Him we can find our security. It is only in Him we can have the hope of our glory.
May His presence always go with us to guide us. Amen.
