Saturday, March 6, 2021
Hallelujah! He is risen!
A Lenten Devotional Guide
And Jesus kept
increasing in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and men.
Luke 2:52 NAS
As I read about the last days in Jesus’ life, I am keenly aware of his wonderful maturity. As a young person, I often excused myself from thinking deeply about some of the things that he faced that were difficult by saying, “well, HE could handle that because HE was God.” I failed to remember that though my mind cannot totally understand how this is possible, he was both 100% God and 100% man. So when he “handled” things, I must take into account that “the man side” was facing things similar to those that I face.
So he “increased.” I think that I accept without any serious consideration that the stature was expected. He was a baby and he became a man as he aged. But what about “in wisdom?” He really didn’t always know everything – especially as a baby and a young boy. That is a huge thought to me, and it means he had to study his Bible, talk to his Father, and learn spiritual truths. By doing that he actually grew in favor (as King James says) with his Father, for through it he learned – as a man – exactly what his Father expected of him. And he increased in favor with men, as he was loyal to his disciples, providing for them the role model that would be so important to them – as they walked together and in their ministry after he had returned to heaven.
Isn’t God amazing?! That he would know how important it would be for us to have a real, live human being to relate to so that we could know what he expects of us.
Father, thank you for
this wonderful Savior whom you sent to us and for the example he is to us in
his life as well as in his death. Help me to grow in wisdom, in stature, and in
favor with you and with men. Amen
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