1-31-14 - Wise Child

Luke tell us that, when Mary and Joseph had “finished everything required by the law of the Lord, they returned to Galilee, to their own town of Nazareth." Then he adds,
"The child grew and became strong, filled with wisdom; and the favor of God was upon him.”

Thirty years of Jesus’ earthly life, minus 40 days, are summed up in one sentence: “The child grew and became strong, filled with wisdom; and the favor of God was upon him.

The three years after that take four gospels to record. But we get precious few words about Jesus' childhood, just a short vignette of Jesus at the age of twelve, left behind at the temple where his parents find him deep in theological conversation with the rabbis, holding his own. That’s about it. Later writers tried to spin some tales to fill in the gap, some of which are collected in the “gnostic gospels,” but these did not have authority for the early churches, and present an image of Jesus entirely at odds with the revelation handed down among those who knew him.

So this is what we have: “The child grew and became strong, filled with wisdom; and the favor of God was upon him.” Not very specific, is it? We don’t know what Jesus liked to eat, how he got along with his brothers and sisters, did he really take up carpentry like Joseph, did he talk back to his mother? This description could be true of any number of children.

In fact, it should be true of every child. Isn’t that what we want for our children? That they grow, and become strong, filled with wisdom, and that God’s favor rests with them? I almost wish this verse was hanging in every child’s room, to remind parents that this is what they should desire for their children, and that this is attainable. This is a wonderful prayer for children we know.

When you were growing up, did you feel strong and wise? Were you aware of standing in God’s blessing? Or did someone tell you otherwise, that you were weak or foolish? That God only blessed good little boys and girls, and that you weren’t likely to qualify for God’s favor? I hope that’s not the message you got. If it was, it’s something to offer to God in prayer, to ask Jesus to erase that message and replace it with the truth of your incalculable worth in God’s eyes.

Maybe you know a child who doesn’t know how strong and wise and blessed he is. Perhaps it can become your mission to make sure she learns how wonderful she is, to be sure he knows the truth about himself. Imagine what this world could be like if every child knew herself to be blessed? Because we act differently when we know we’re blessed. We don’t need to fight and grab. We’re more inclined to want to bless other people, ones we know and ones we don’t.

Let’s take this summary line of Luke’s, almost a throwaway, and make it our mission statement: to grow all the children with whom we come into contact into strong, wise and blessed adults.

And maybe along the way we’ll become more fully strong, wise and blessed ourselves. I can think of no better gift for the world.

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