Doing My Father's Work

September 18, 2021

Bible Readings

Take a few minutes to read the Bible verses listed and ask the Holy Spirit to lead you in how this verse applies to you this week.

Luke 2:41-52, Ephesians 2:10

Memory Verse

Luke 2:49

“Why were you searching for me?” he asked. “Didn’t you know I had to be in my Father’s house?” (NIV)

written by Ron VandenBurg
illustrated by Chad Thompson

Sofia and Casey are sitting beside each other in church. We see other people sitting around them. Casey is reading from the Bible and saying, “Luke 2:52. And Jesus grew in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and man.”

Casey says, “It’s hard to picture Jesus as a kid just like you and me.”

Sofia says, “I like it that God knows what it’s like to be a kid!”

Print Comic

What was Jesus like as a kid? How do you picture him? Was he preparing for God’s special plans for him? How much was the boy Jesus like you?

We have one story about Jesus when he was just a twelve-year-old boy. Jesus traveled with his family to Jerusalem for the Festival of the Passover. After the festival was over, Jesus’ family began the journey home, but Jesus wasn’t with them. They couldn’t find him anywhere.

After three days, they found Jesus in the temple courts listening to the teachers, asking them questions, and sharing amazing answers. His worried mother said, “Son, why have you done this to us? Your father and I have been very worried, and we have been searching for you!”

Jesus asked them why they were searching for him and then said, “Didn’t you know I had to be in my Father’s house?” It can be also translated as “doing my Father’s work.” Jesus told his parents that he was God’s Son and that God had a special purpose for him. The rest of the story shows how the young Jesus did his Father’s work: he lived obediently with his parents, and he grew up blessed by both God and people.

So how is the boy Jesus like us? We are also God’s children, and God has some important plans for each of us. As we wonder about and work on God’s call, we too are equipped and blessed by other people and by God. So let’s move forward and do our Father’s work that he has “prepared in advance for us to do” (Ephesians 2:10).

Prayer

Thank you, Jesus, for coming to earth and being a kid like me. You came to do your Father’s work, and I thank you for dying on the cross for my sins. Help me to see how I can also do the work that God has planned for me. Thank you, God, for all the gifts you’ve given me to do that work. Amen.

Related Resources

Liz and Friends

The Call

Bible Story

The Boy Jesus at the Temple

Activity

Know Your Bible Activity Book, Part 7!

Kids In Action Episode

Swimming Across Lake Erie

Ron VandenBurg

Senior Producer of Children’s Ministry at ReFrame Ministries

Ron VandenBurg joined the ReFrame Ministries team in 2014. He plans and develops projects specifically for the spiritual formation of children. Before coming to ReFrame, Ron taught middle-school for 27 years. Ron completed a M. Ed. degree in Teaching, Learning and Development at Brock University. Ron and Rachel have three fantastic adult children and one grandchild and reside in Ontario.