Today’s entry is on Luke 2.
I wrote a journal entry on Luke 2 back for Christmas this past year. I’m not going to lie, I was pretty tempted to just go back and copy-paste that journal for today. But coming back to this passage has me revisiting my past thoughts, and reliving the Christmas spirit. I wrote, way back in December, how Christmas was “a day to focus on & be moved by God’s works, to treasure His gifts and to share them with the world through our own one-of-a-kind voice and praises.” Well now in the thick of a blazing-hot summer, revisiting this has me reflecting on how strongly this still applies. Do the movings & praises of your heart from back on Christmas Day those long eight-ish months ago still ring true? Are you still just as fired up and driven to sing & share your joy for the miraculous birth of a savior to those who haven’t heard, as this Gospel was intended to? Is your response to the gift of a savior continually push you to learn & grow in new ways?
I was struck with another impression from this passage recently: how Jesus grew. Starting out a wee baby, he followed His parents and learned from the elders in the Temple, listening and learning and asking questions as any of us would. In verse 52, mentioning “Jesus grew in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and men.” God is all-knowing, all-encompassing – yet through Christ, humbled Himself among man and experienced first-hand the plight of being without knowledge; and in being driven through passion for God’s word, pursuing a life of growth and understanding about God’s nature and our place within His kingdom. When we see the birth of Jesus, we’re not only painted the picture of the miracle of God’s fulfillment of the Old Testament prophecy and our Savior’s birth, but through Christ’s example, how we are to be moved by that, and called to action to grow in faithful devotion accordingly. (2 Peter 3:17-18 – “Take care that you are not carried away with the error of lawless people and lose your own stability. But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.”)
In Paul’s letters to Timothy, he wrote of devoting himself to learning and growing: “Until I come, devote yourself to the public reading of Scripture, to exhortation, to teaching. Do not neglect the gift you have, which was given you by prophecy when the council of elders laid their hands on you. Practice these things, immerse yourself in them, so that all may see your progress.” (1 Timothy 4:13-15). His request is one I believe echos timelessly to us all. The gift from God of a savior to die in our sin’s stead was the greatest act of mercy and grace we have ever received, one that we commemorate and act upon on Christmas. But as that savior grew and devoted Himself to learning and teaching, our emotional reaction must prompt (and be followed through on) a physical one; a greater need for knowledge, an ever-mightier spiritual thirst for the Living Water found in Christ Jesus. It can be easy for us to idle in our faith without realizing: becoming content with who we are and what we know, not prioritizing continued depth in our relationship with God. Happens to me sometimes, as it can happen to us all. But as Romans 12:11 reminds us, “Do not be slothful in zeal, be fervent in spirit, serve the Lord.” Do you remain on fire spiritually? Does the gift of Jesus continue to spurn devotion to reading, exalting, and teaching the word of Christ to the world within you?