Looking in all the Wrong Places

I'm in the book of Luke right now and came to Chapter 2. I almost skipped over since it was the Christmas story and we're not to Thanksgiving yet. My personal policy is no Christmas 'til after Thanksgiving. But, I figured I could break my policy for the bible. The part that stuck with me that day was Jesus being left at the temple (Luke 2:41-52). I don't remember ever being left anywhere as a kid. The closest thing I can remember is Mom not being able to find me in a department store. We were with some other people, I think my Mom's side of the family, so I'm sure she thought I was with another adult. I remember wandering around having a good time when over the store intercom came something along the lines of "Brett Long your mother is waiting for you at the front of the store." I did as the voice commanded and was reunited with a worried mother.

So I can see how Mary and Joseph could lose Jesus. I'm sure they had other children at this point and they were not perfect like their savior brother. I bet when they were rounding up their kids, Jesus was always last on the roll call since he never caused any trouble and like the bible says they assumed he was with family. When they realized he was missing it took them 3 days to find him. My Mom got concerned when I was missing for a few minutes, so 3 days to Mary must have felt like a lifetime. They would be arrested for child neglect today. Anyways, when they finally found him he gave his famous response  "Why were you looking for me? Did you not know that I must be in my Father's house?" 


When I've read this in the past I usually think about how spiritual and smart Jesus was even at 12 years old. This time I started to think about when we are looking for Jesus in our lives. So many times I look in the wrong places or make it more difficult than it has to be. Jesus is not hiding from us. He has made it quite clear how to find him. We are the stubborn ones who continue to look on our own. Whether you are seeking for the first time or just trying to learn more, we have all we need in the bible. You may find hints in other places, but to truly know him you must go to his word. When we find Jesus I feel we will ask ourselves the same question: "Why was I looking (in all the wrong places) for Jesus?" The answer is this case is the most obvious, right where he told us he would be.


"You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart." - Jeremiah 29:13

Thessalonians' Lifestyle

I have been reading through the 5 New Testament books that start with 'T'. I read this a while back, but it has stuck with me so I thought I get it down in the blogosphere.

"We continually remember before our God and Father your work produced by faith, your labor prompted by love, and your endurance inspired by hope in our Lord Jesus Christ." 1 Thessalonians 1:3

Its a simple verse meant to encourage the young Thessalonians in their Christian walk and includes the often mentioned triad of faith, hope, and love (1 Cor. 13:13, Col. 1:5, 1 Thess. 5:8). I have never heard anyone argue the merit of possessing these three characteristics. Everyone wants to possess these, the question is how to cultivate a life that personifies them. What stood out to me were the words that brought out these pillars of the Christian life and I think they provide some insight. As usual it goes against the typical line of thinking.

• "Your work produced by faith" - I could delve into many roads on faith and works, but I wanted to stick to what first came to my mind that morning. I was about to go to my job, so when I read 'work' that is what I associated it with. Why do we work? Most would say to make money, some to survive, others to acquire stuff. I meet very few people who actually enjoy their work. So we work out of fear of not surviving or keeping up with status quo of society. We work for security. If faith is "being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see," I know I often try to buffer that notion of having faith with work. I want to think God will take care of me, but I also want to have a back up plan, just in case. Its easy to have faith if your life situation is considered "well-off." When times are down though, it is easy to put faith in your work rather than God. My take home message was a reminder that each day I go to work is not to assure my own well-being aside from God, but I work knowing my needs will be taken care of.

• "Labor prompted by love" - Labor and love are rarely used in the same sentence. The idea of labor is usually looked down upon by our society. Everyone wants a job where they don't have to do anything and get paid for it. The idea of laboring for love and not just for money is so far removed from my usual line of thinking. Laboring, work, etc. take up so much of our time, it should be such a good venue for representing Christ. What we love will set us apart from the world, so it is best to express that love even when we are laboring. I'll give a quick shout out to my first musical interest, dc talk, who put it very nicely in '90s hip hop lingo in their song "Luv is a Verb" Take home message, "Whatever you do, do it with all your heart as if working for the Lord and not for men." - Colossians 3:23

• "Your endurance inspired by hope in our Lord Jesus Christ" - It is easy to get frustrated at work, slack off, or quit. A coworker tells me every time I ask how he is doing, says "just waiting on 5 o'clock." How often have I longed for 5 o'clock, the weekend, or even retirement? What a sad thought. Hope has come to mean a longing for something to happen you don't think will happen. In the Bible it is just the opposite, implying a "joyous certainty", confidence that what is going to happen in the future is for your good. If we place our hope on ourselves, then it is no surprise we are all working for the weekend, because we will never find satisfaction in our own desires. Its so easy to live life as a destination, with each stop a let down in our search for temporary pleasure. If our hope is in Jesus, the journey and the destination, how can we be let down? He has the ultimate gift, which we can never acquire on our own and will give an eternal meaning to each day. Take home message "This is the day the Lord has made, let us rejoice and be glad in it." (Psalms 118:24). 

Do what you love. 

Love what you do.