Losing Jesus

 "But why did you need to search?" He asked. "Didn't you know that I must be in My Father's house?" Luke 2:49........."The parents of Jesus lost Him at church, and they were not the last ones to lose Him there." Vance Havner

Jesus and His parents had come to Jerusalem to celebrate the Feast of the Passover, a most holy time to the Jews. They were there to worship, and must have spent a great deal of time in the vicinity of the Temple. Yet, when the time came for them to return to Nazareth, they were unaware that Jesus was not with them when they left. In fact, the Bible says that several days passed before they noticed. Our first thought must be that they were very bad parents to have taken so long to miss Him, but were they? They likely traveled with a large number of people and since the idea of family was so extended in those times, they likely assumed he was traveling with others in the group and was with them. There lies the problem for you and me; they assumed He was with them. They assumed wrongly. How often do we do the same?

So many of us assume that Jesus' rebuke of His parents concerning that they should have known where to find Him, in the house of God, meant that they should have known He'd be "in church." One translation says that He told them that He'd be "about My Father's business." We assume that He would be engaged in doing meaningful ministry for His Father. While there is some truth in those assumptions, I think we miss the mark with them. I think the Father's house means something far greater than the church we're a part of. I think it refers much more to being in the house that is His heart. This is where everyone should expect to find us. In His heart. And we most certainly should be about the business of the Father, but that business is first and foremost the business of intimacy with Him. Of being transformed into His likeness. In our zeal to do His work, we miss the work He seeks to do in us. We're in overdrive with our activity for Him, so that little of His activity is going on in us. This is how we, as Havner says, lose Jesus in church. Where are you and I losing Him right now?

Burnout is a serious problem for many in the church today. Pastors, missionaries, teachers, leaders. We throw ourselves into the business of the church, but neglect doing business with Him. We do so much in His name, but we miss living in the power of His name. We can end up with a well oiled organizational machine that will grind to a halt because there is such a lack of the oil of the Holy Spirit. We end up talking about a Father, Son, and Holy Spirit that we rarely, if ever, experience ourselves. Erwin McManus said that Jesus is being lost in the church that bears His name. Where is He being lost in your fellowship and mine?

We can be diligent in planning our Sunday worship, and yet miss Him, lose Him in the preparation. As we meticulously plan the songs, the message, and all that we hope to have in the worship, we somehow lose Him in the planning. I'm often reminded of the story told by a preacher about a church he was invited to preach at. They gave him a list of everything scheduled for the service, with the minutes allowed for each part....including His message. Everything was covered. Everything but freedom for the Holy Spirit to infuse the worship in any way He chose. It may be unconscious, but we expect Him to respect our planning, and in doing so, lose Him....in the church...in the worship of the One we're there for.

Can we dare, as members of His Body, allow Him to examine where, as individuals and as His Body, we are "losing" Him? Like His parents, how far have we "traveled" along without Him? Right now, there may be no more important question to be asked. When His Spirit asks it of us, how and what do we answer?

Blessings,

Pastor O