"And the child (Jesus) grew, and waxed strong in spirit, filled with wisdom; and the grace of God was upon Him.
Now His parents went to Jerusalem every year at the feast of the passover. And when he was twelve years old, they went up to Jerusalem after the custom of the feast. And when they had fulfilled the days, as they returned, the child Jesus tarried behind in Jerusalem; and Joseph and His mother knew not of it. But they, supposing Him to have been in the company, went a day's journey; and they sought Him among their kinsfolk and acquaintance. And when they found Him not, they turned back again to Jerusalem, seeking Him.
And it came to pass, that after three days they found Him in the temple, sitting in the midst of the doctors, both hearing them, and asking them questions. And all that heard Him were astonished at His understanding and answers."-Luke 2: 40-47.
It is my desire to bring this passage before you in its reference to recovery—recovery of soul. In a natural way, only let God lay His hand on us in sickness, and we want recovery; and if we have not prayed for weeks, we commence then.
There are many saints of God in bad spiritual health because of indifferent living, and they do not appear to know of their condition. It is a good thing when the need of spiritual recovery is felt; that is one step towards improvement. I do not speak of salvation. Thank God we have been brought to know our moral unsoundness, and through the Lord Jesus Christ we have been made whole. We are assured our future is secure, hence we need not dwell on that. Our continual exercise should be as to the present. " And herein do I exercise myself," &c. (Acts 24: 16.)
It is interesting to notice in this passage of scripture the Lord Jesus grows and waxes strong in spirit. He is filled with wisdom, and the grace of God is upon Him. In applying this to ourselves, we remember that it is not the Lord growing, but our apprehension of Him that enlarges as time goes on. Let us ask ourselves " Is my appreciation of the Lord Jesus Christ increasing? " What pleasure and delight Jesus' parents must have found in Him as He exhibited divine wisdom and grace in His life.
They go to Jerusalem as the custom was, and when the feast is over they return. Everything seems prosperous, and doubtless they are happy in themselves as they start away home. All seems as right as when they were coming, (how often all seems right with us), but one thing made all the difference. Jesus was not with them. He tarries behind—tests their affection and interest in Him, as it were. We would think that His parents would not have let Him out of their sight! They start away and He is not with them, and we read, " Joseph and His mother knew not of it."
They suppose Him to be in the company, and they go a day's journey. The fact is this they have lost the Lord; that is, His company, His presence.
At night the caravan stops, and Joseph and His mother want Jesus. It does not say what for, but the point is, they want Him and He is not there. He is sought for amongst the kinsfolk and acquaintance, and then they turn back to seek Him. That was a good step. Abraham had to do it; many since have had to do it, and so must we. If there has been departure, you must go back to the place of departure. Likes and dislikes have no place here; the flesh has to go, and there must be confession.
" And it came to pass that after three days they found Him." After three days. They had only gone one day's journey without Jesus, but it took three days to recover Him. Is not this full of significance to us? Can we imagine the anxiety to His parents? It is not difficult to see the lesson, but I trust we may each learn it.
We become a little careless in our walk, losing sight of Eph. 5: 2, or as to our conversation (see Phil. 1:2727Only let your conversation be as it becometh the gospel of Christ: that whether I come and see you, or else be absent, I may hear of your affairs, that ye stand fast in one spirit, with one mind striving together for the faith of the gospel; (Philippians 1:27), first clause). Perhaps we are not particular as to the company we keep, and find ourselves like Peter in John 18. 18-accepting hospitality from the wrong people, which resulted, as we are all aware, in grievous consequences. However, we find Peter learned the lesson and, in Acts 4: 23, he in company with John seeks the right company.
Over-occupation with kinsfolk or acquaintance-indeed it takes very little-the most apparently harmless thing will upset us, and interrupt communion with the Lord Jesus.
We suppose Him to be in " the company " and soothe ourselves with this, as if others can enjoy Christ for us. It comes to this we have lost touch with the Lord, and we know it not. We may attend all the meetings, but are we in company with Him? It is a question of heart-fellowship with the Lord. If we have not the strength and confidence of His presence (Ex. 33: 14, 15) we are like Samson when he lost his strength -he " wist not that the Lord was departed from him," but he was in fact just in the condition for the enemy to overpower him. Nehemiah says, " The joy of the Lord is your strength."
The Lord Jesus does not compel us to have His company. It is there for us, and He delights in our fellowship, but if we do not want it we do not get it.
So we go our day's journey without Him. We may feel contented, but in reality it is a sad day's work. Then something comes along-trouble or sickness (1 Cor. 2: 30) and we wake up to the fact that we are out of touch. Has the Lord forsaken us? No; it is not that. We have gone a day's—perhaps a month's
or even a year's—journey without Him. It is a good thing when we wake up to it, and better still when we turn back to seek Him.
But depend upon it, there will be three days' seeking. This is a solemn thing, but God must teach us. We cannot play fast and loose with divine privileges. We are in the school of God, and there will be exercise and perhaps anxiety, which will cause us to value His presence more.
Has not this been the experience of some who read this? The realization of the joy of the Lord's presence with us (I speak of the individual experience) cannot be put on for Sunday, like our best clothes. Some have gone through deep soul-exercise, and cried out, almost in despair, " Restore unto me the joy of Thy salvation." (Psa. 51: 12).
Thank the Lord, He recovers us in His good time. We regain His company, but we never regain lost time.
Dear brethren, our time here is but short. Do we spend our years as a tale that is told? (Psalm 90: 9.) Let me say this: our lives will be unsuccessful, and in the light of the judgment seat of Christ, a miserable failure, unless we are here for His pleasure.
What joy to the Lord Jesus to have us going on in, and valuing, His company. Do we minister pleasure to His heart in this way? How blessed to keep in touch with Himself, and, by a prayerful and humble walk, avoid such an experience as the scripture before us depicts.
May these few remarks be an encouragement and a warning to us, so that we may with increased purpose of heart cultivate communion with Himself. This will bring glory to the blessed Lord Jesus, and much gain to ourselves.
Oh! that each one may, through grace, be able to turn to the Lord and say, in regard to their individual and daily walk, " THOU ART WITH ME; Thy rod and Thy staff they comfort me." (Psa. 23: 4.) This is the satisfactory reply to the question heading this paper.