-December 28, 2023-
Good morning beloved, happy Thursday,
“And the Child grew and became strong in spirit, filled with wisdom; and the grace of God was upon Him.”
(Luke 2:40).
We know that Jesus lived on earth for thirty three years. We know very little of the first thirty years compared to the last three. There is an eighteen year gap, the so called lost years. I personally don’t like the term lost in connection with our Savior. I would rather say the anonymous or unknown years.
He was born in Bethlehem and raised in Nazareth. Today’s verse describes his life up to the age of twelve. The first years of anyone’s life are the formative years physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually. More people are converted Christians before the age of twenty than all the years after it. Children have a child-like faith and have not been corrupted by this world. In the case of Jesus He was perfect God and perfect man.
He grew and became strong in spirit – It is amazing that the omniscient, omnipotent, and omnipresent God was born and grew up in a small town in Nazareth. Even from his childhood, He was a special Child: perfect, sinless, blameless, innocent, and undefiled. Though He was the Author of the Scriptures, He had a hunger and thirst to learn as a human being. For us to grow strong in spirit we must spend time in prayer and the Word daily, and obey and apply the truth to our personal lives.
He was filled with wisdom – Jesus was wisdom personified. He knew what to say and how to say it; He knew what to do and how to do it; He treated others the way He wanted to be treated. He obeyed parents and did the will of His Father. Luke 2:51-52 says, “Then He went down with them and came to Nazareth, and was subject to them, but His mother kept all these things in her heart. And Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and men.”
The grace of God was upon Him – From His earliest years He knew He was God. There is much we don’t understand, yet conclude by what we do know from the Gospel of Luke. John said of Him in John 1:14, “And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us and we beheld His glory, the glory of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.” He was the way, the truth, and the life.
There are so many lessons for us to learn and follow from Jesus’ early years. May the Lord help us to grow, be strong in spirit, be filled with wisdom, show grace to others, and be in submission to those in authority over us. No matter how old we get, we must live our lives according to God’s Word and His will each day, and be pleasing to Him. Paul wrote, “Therefore we make it our aim, whether present or absent, to be well pleasing to Him” (2 Corinthians 5:9).
Have a blessed day walking with Jesus and serving Him. Stay safe and healthy.
Learning from Jesus to be like Jesus, knowing we will one day be with Jesus,
Dean
Dean Allen's Daily Devotional 