Commit To Being A Family That Prioritizes Service To God
Text: Luke 2:41-42
Jesus was taken to Jerusalem many times during His childhood, in obedience to the Law of Moses. One occasion is found earlier in Luke 2 regarding Jesus’s circumcision and dedication to the Lord. Then, this passage shows that Jesus’s family was committed to serving God by keeping the Law of Moses even further, specifically as it relates to traveling to Jerusalem for the Passover Festival every year. For context, it is estimated that this journey took 2 to 5 days. And, the festival itself lasted for seven days. Surely, there would have been multiple aspects of sacrifice involved in this for the family – time, money, energy, etc.
It is easy for a family to get consumed by the things of this life so that God is squeezed out of the picture entirely or made to settle for whatever a family has leftover. However, Jesus’s parents present a good example of a family that scheduled time for God and put Him first. Although we do not live under the Law of Moses today that requires keeping these festivals, there are things families must prioritize in serving God. These include Bible study, prayer, worship, assembling with the local church, living in holiness, serving others, sharing the gospel, etc.
Today’s response to hearing God’s word is this: Commit to being a family that prioritizes service to God. Don’t let the busyness of this world fill your calendar so that God is made to take a back seat. Rather, let your commitment to serving God be evident in your daily, weekly, monthly, and yearly calendar. Arrange your family’s schedule in such a way that it is evident to all (especially to your children) that God comes first. Then, make it clear that God comes first in every aspect of your life. Those who see and know your family should plainly recognize that everything is first viewed from the perspective of how you can best serve God!