First Steps

Have you ever watched a baby take her first steps?  It's an amazing sight to see.  You can almost see the gears churning in their little minds.  Pull up using couch.  Lift hands and balance. Move foot without touching. Smile and celebrate!  Fall down on diaper.  However it happens, the tenuous struggle with gravity and balance eventually is overcome.  The little child learns to walk.

Every year Jesus' parents went to Jerusalem for the Passover festival. When Jesus was twelve years old, they attended the festival as usual. (Luke 2:41-42 NLT)

As a parent, teenage years are much more of a struggle.  This little child is becoming a full-grown woman or man.  We want to help them "learn to walk," but they often do not want our help.  They are learning to walk on their own.  They get a job and their own income stream.  They learn to drive and find a way to get wheels.  We try to put parameters around to ease the transition like curfews and other household rules, but at some point we realize we are watching the same process all over again.  Our little child is learning how to walk. When they are teenagers, though, it can be a much more harrowing experience.

After the celebration was over, they started home to Nazareth, but Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem. His parents didn't miss Him at first, because they assumed He was among the other travelers. But when He didn't show up that evening, they started looking for Him among their relatives and friends. When they couldn't find Him, they went back to Jerusalem to search for Him there. (Luke 2:43-45 NLT)

When they are little, they have little problems.  I remember when our toddler, Rebecca, got hold of a gallon jug of cooking oil.  She wanted to see what was inside.  Before Traci could catch her, she had transported the container to the living room, opened the cap, and poured out its contents all over the new carpet.  This seemed like a big deal at the time, but it was only oil on carpet and it was right in our own living room.

When they are bigger, they have bigger problems.  My middle daughter, Amanda, fights battles with her car.  Burning oil, a dead battery, and tires that won't hold air are all par for the course in an older vehicle.  It's one thing to get the call from a mile up the road: "Dad, my tire's flat."  It's another to get the call from Anderson, Indiana.  Perhaps the most difficult call to receive is the one that begins with, "We were in an accident."  It was a five-car pile up.  They were the 4th car.  I'm thanking God that they were not hurt.

Three days later they finally discovered Him in the Temple, sitting among the religious teachers, listening to them and asking questions. All who heard Him were amazed at His understanding and His answers. His parents didn't know what to think. "Son," His mother said to Him, "why have You done this to us? Your father and I have been frantic, searching for You everywhere." "But why did you need to search?" He asked. "Didn't you know that I must be in My Father's house?" (Luke 2:46-49 NLT)

I don't think Jesus was trying to be rebellious here.  We know he never sinned and all sin is rebellion.  No, I just think Jesus was learning how to walk.  He was pretty good at it, too.  The teachers liked this kid.  He clearly paid attention in school.  He was going to make something of himself someday.  Maybe he would become a teacher, too!  His parents, however, weren't really interested in any of that.  They were just thanking God that nobody was hurt.

But they didn't understand what He meant. Then He returned to Nazareth with them and was obedient to them. And His mother stored all these things in her heart. Jesus grew in wisdom and in stature and in favor with God and all the people. (Luke 2:50-52 NLT)

How about you?  Have you taken your first steps in your walk together with God?  Do you cut yourself some slack if you "fall down on your diaper?"  Do you celebrate when you take those steps?  Do you help others, even adults, takes those steps, too?

Steps to Protect

After the wise men were gone, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream. "Get up! Flee to Egypt with the child and His mother," the angel said. "Stay there until I tell you to return, because Herod is going to search for the child to kill Him." (Matthew 2:13 NLT)

Often times, especially when we are very young, steps are taken on our behalf to protect us.  Our parents or guardians keep us in out of the rain, cold, or snow.  They make sure we have food to eat so we don't starve.  Keeping a baby clean, warm, and dry prevents viruses, bacteria, and disease.  Joseph had a very real danger here.  He was going to protect Jesus.

That night Joseph left for Egypt with the child and Mary, His mother, and they stayed there until Herod's death. This fulfilled what the Lord had spoken through the prophet: "I called My Son out of Egypt." Herod was furious when he realized that the wise men had outwitted him. He sent soldiers to kill all the boys in and around Bethlehem who were two years old and under, based on the wise men's report of the star's first appearance. Herod's brutal action fulfilled what God had spoken through the prophet Jeremiah: "A cry was heard in Ramah—weeping and great mourning. Rachel weeps for her children, refusing to be comforted, for they are dead." (Matthew 2:14-18 NLT)

Jesus would eventually die, but under his own terms.  He would be old enough to fulfill more prophecies, perform miracles, teach, and, when his followers understood, lay down his life for his "sheep."  Jesus' death would become the most significant death in all of history because it brings life to the world.  Not this day, though.  On this day, as a baby, he was protected.

When Herod died, an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt. "Get up!" the angel said. "Take the child and His mother back to the land of Israel, because those who were trying to kill the child are dead." So Joseph got up and returned to the land of Israel with Jesus and His mother. (Matthew 2:19-21 NLT)

How about you?  Do you have times in your life where steps were taken for you?  Did they protect you?  Have you thanked the one(s) who took those step(s)?  Have you protected those in your care?

Steps Confirmed

I remember the birth of our first child, Rebecca.  I was so worried that I was going to mess things up.  I had never been a dad before.  I didn't know what I was doing.  There were no manuals for this kind of a thing.  Yes, Traci and I had both been raised by loving parents and we went to the birth/new parent classes.  But it didn't seem to be enough.  We were going to have to make a million decisions that we had never made before.

Sometimes I will hear people say that the Bible is God's instruction manual.  I agree.  I've read it through and through - over and over again.  Each time I gain more insight and wisdom that I didn't have before.  The process has helped me become a better husband, a better father, and just a better man.  Many times, though, the wisdom in there didn't make sense to me right away.  There were times, like Mary and Joseph, I just needed to do what it said even if it didn't make sense.

At that time there was a man in Jerusalem named Simeon. He was righteous and devout and was eagerly waiting for the Messiah to come and rescue Israel. The Holy Spirit was upon him and had revealed to him that he would not die until he had seen the Lord's Messiah. (Luke 2:25-26 NLT)

Joseph and Mary were fulfilling the Law of Moses by taking Jesus to the temple.  This purification ceremony was one of many ceremonies and rites they would be doing as a family.  Whether they understood the implications of circumcision, purification ceremonies, and annual festivals or not we don't know.  They wanted to walk together with God, though, and the Old Testament gave them these instructions.  They were faithful to God as revealed to them through Scripture.  This much we do know.

That day the Spirit led him to the Temple. So when Mary and Joseph came to present the baby Jesus to the Lord as the law required, Simeon was there. He took the child in his arms and praised God, saying, "Sovereign Lord, now let Your servant die in peace, as You have promised. I have seen Your salvation, which You have prepared for all people. He is a light to reveal God to the nations, and He is the glory of Your people Israel!" Jesus' parents were amazed at what was being said about Him. (Luke 2:27-33 NLT)

Sometimes we take steps of faith not really understanding the implications of these steps.  We are simply faithful to God's instructions.  In my experience, God often helps us see more of the reason once we are faithful.  Some things aren't as effectively communicated with words.  You just have to be there.  We can't "be there" unless we are faithful to the part we know.

Then Simeon blessed them, and he said to Mary, the baby's mother, "This child is destined to cause many in Israel to fall, but He will be a joy to many others. He has been sent as a sign from God, but many will oppose Him. As a result, the deepest thoughts of many hearts will be revealed. And a sword will pierce your very soul." Anna, a prophet, was also there in the Temple. She was the daughter of Phanuel from the tribe of Asher, and she was very old. Her husband died when they had been married only seven years. Then she lived as a widow to the age of eighty-four. She never left the Temple but stayed there day and night, worshiping God with fasting and prayer. She came along just as Simeon was talking with Mary and Joseph, and she began praising God. She talked about the child to everyone who had been waiting expectantly for God to rescue Jerusalem. (Luke 2:34-38 NLT)

I heard a senior saint once say why he went to church services every weekend.  He had read his Bible many times.  He knew all the words to the worship songs and probably already knew everything the preacher would bring from the Scriptures that day.  Why did he go, then?  "I don't know who God will bring for me to bless that day.  I also don't know who God will use to bless me."  He was being faithful to what he did know, expecting God to take care of the part he didn't know.

When Jesus' parents had fulfilled all the requirements of the law of the Lord, they returned home to Nazareth in Galilee. (Luke 2:39 NLT)

How about you?  Are you faithful to the parts you do know?  Do you continue to learn more parts from God's Word: the Bible?  Do you see more of the picture when you are faithful?

Steps for Us

When Jesus was born, the shepherds were informed and they all had a birthday celebration together at the manger. That's where we left the story off at the Christmas Eve service.

Eight days later, when the baby was circumcised, He was named Jesus, the name given Him by the angel even before He was conceived. (Luke 2:21 NLT)

Mary and Joseph most probably stayed in Bethlehem for a little while. First of all, it was closer to Jerusalem than Nazareth and they would need to go to the temple to present their first born son for the purification ceremony. They could have circumcised him in Bethlehem or taken him to the temple in Jerusalem to make it even more special. Whatever the case, they had Jesus circumcised and named him just the way the angel instructed.

Then it was time for their purification offering, as required by the law of Moses after the birth of a child; so His parents took Him to Jerusalem to present Him to the Lord. The law of the Lord says, "If a woman's first child is a boy, he must be dedicated to the LORD." So they offered the sacrifice required in the law of the Lord—"either a pair of turtledoves or two young pigeons." (Luke 2:22-24 NLT)

The purification ceremony needed to take place 33 days after the birth of a son (Leviticus 12:3-4). Mary and Joseph probably stayed in Bethlehem, only a day trip to the temple, rather than returning home to Nazareth, which was several days away from Jerusalem. Whether they stayed or traveled back and forth, they were committed to following the Law of Moses with their family. They were committed to walking together with God.

Jewish families still circumcise their boys on the eighth day to follow the law. My parents had me baptized in the Roman Catholic Church as an infant. They then raised me in the Church, took me to Mass every week, and sent me to parochial schools. They were committed to raising me to walk together with God. I'm glad they did.

In our early years, our parents, grandparents, godparents, or other guardians make choices for us. When they choose to walk together with God, they take steps for us that teach us to walk together with God as well. When they choose not to walk with God, these early steps do not teach us what it looks like to walk together with God.

How about you? Were your earliest steps together with God taken for you by the people who raised you? Do you help other children learn and grow in their walk together with God? Is God working through you to empower one more?