““Why were you searching for Me?” He asked them. “Didn’t you know that I had to be in My Father’s house?” But they did not understand what He said to them. Then He went down with them and came to Nazareth and was obedient to them. His mother kept all these things in her heart. And Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and with people.” (Luke 2:49–52, HCSB)
Then He went down with them and came to Nazareth and was obedient to them.It doesn’t matter who we are or how important we are, we all have roles to fulfill. Throughout our lives, we have the constant choice whether to fulfill the role God has given us at the moment or thrash about like a wild animal in a department store.
Roles are God-given responsibilities to perform specific functions for the purpose of accomplishing all God has designed for us at any given moment. Often, the fulfillment of a role today will determine our success or failure in the future.
So, when Jesus at the age of adulthood, focused his attention on the business of His heavenly Father, time slipped away. There, for days, He sat absorbing and discussing the things of God that were in the forefront of His heart and soul.
Soon, after days of separation, His frantic parents found Him. When they shared their concerns, Jesus matter-of-fact response shows us that He meant no rebellion or disrespect. Perhaps there’s even an air of confusion in the exchange. Jesus asked His parents, “Didn’t you know that I had to be in My Father’s house?”
Whatever the situation, He still had a role to execute. God wanted to train His Son through the leadership of Joseph and Mary. There were almost two decades before Jesus’ formal ministry would begin. So, “He went down with them and came to Nazareth and was obedient to them.” Obedience always teaches the lessons of leadership.
Whether we like it or not, today is a good day to stop and evaluate if we are fulfilling all of our God-given roles effectively. In order to discover all God has for us we will need to be, “submitting to one another in the fear of Christ” (Ephesians 5:21, HCSB) as Jesus did. Only then will God’s lessons of servant leadership nurture our souls.
Willing Worker Wednesdays are dedicated to explaining the core realities of servant leadership – the Biblical principles and methods used by God’s faithful people throughout time. They further reflect the lifestyle of Jesus, the King of kings and Lord of lords as He walked on this earth announcing the Kingdom of God had arrived. These brief lessons are written by Dr. Matthew Lee Smith, Executive Director of Eagles In Leadership, and come from his extensive ministry within the local church, in higher education, in church consulting and as a Biblical author and leader. He welcomes your comments below.
