Mercy and peace of our Lord, Jesus Christ be with you! Welcome to our column “Daily word for spiritual strength”. Yesterday we found out that Jesus studied the Scripture in order to know and fulfil God´s will in His life. Reading the Bible we see how Jesus was growing and being filled with wisdom, and the grace of God was upon him. Jesus was constantly seeking the God´s will for His life, in order to set a good example for us. If Jesus had got to know God´s will using His divine nature instead, He wouldn´t have set a role model to us nor we wouldn´t be able to follow his steps today. Jesus stayed longer in the Temple after the feast of Passover in Jerusalem while other people had already left for home (see Luke 2:41-51). What was Jesus doing there and why did He stay longer in the Temple? He stayed there to listen to the scribes and to question them. That´s one of His secrets where His wisdom came from. Jesus studied the Scriptures. He attended the Temple and asked questions, prayed and leaned closer to God, His Father.This is what the prophet Isaiah said about Jesus:
«The Lord Yahweh has given me the tongue of those who are taught, that I may know how to sustain with words him who is weary: he wakens morning by morning, he wakens my ear to hear as those who are taught. The Lord Yahweh has opened my ear, and I was not rebellious, neither turned away backward. I gave my back to the strikers, and my cheeks to those who plucked off the hair; I didn’t hide my face from shame and spitting. For the Lord Yahweh will help me; therefore I have not been confounded: therefore have I set my face like a flint, and I know that I shall not be disappointed.» (Isaiah 50:4-7).
Jesus learned from His heavenly Father having fellowship with Him every morning. It was His source of strength and revelation, and the way He got to know the will of God. It also was the source of His strength of His human spirit. Even scribes and teachers of the law listened to Him were surprised by His answers.«All who heard him were amazed at his understanding and his answers.». (Luke 2:47).
So Jesus stayed in the Temple while all of His peers and relatives started off home from Jerusalem. Only three days later Jesus´ parents discovered His absence, searched for Him and finally found Him in the Temple when Jesus said to them:“Why were you looking for me? Didn’t you know that I must be in my Father’s house?” (Luke 2:49).
As we can see from this story, Jesus knew His coming into this world was not an accident even at His early age. By studying the Holy Scriptures Jesus revealed God´s will in His life, but also dedicated Himself to fulfil that will – till His very death on the cross.What do you dedicate your time and your life to today? How important is the God´s will to you? Maybe you are still living according to your own will and fulfil your own desires? Remember, in God´s will alone you can find fulfilment and happiness. Staying out of the God´s will you will constantly feel emptiness and dissatisfaction. The choice is yours!Let´s continue tomorrow!Be blessed!Rufus Adjiboye, pastor
