home at Nazareth. It
was not by a miracle or due to some divine attribute, but because of the
training he had received from his pious parents, that Jesus at the age of
twelve was a master of the Scriptures, and had learned to reverence and
adore all that was related to them and to the worship of God. Is it not
possible for parents to-day to awaken in the hearts of their children a
love for the house and the Word and the will of God?

These words, further, were a revelation of the consciousness of divine
sonship. Jesus already realized that in a unique sense God was his own
Father, the true source of his being. He instantly corrected the words of
Mary, "thy father," which referred to Joseph, with his own words "my
Father," which referred to God. Luke depicts Jesus as the ideal Man, but
always as one conscious that he was the Son of God.

Our children should learn to regard God as their Father, not in the unique
sense employed by Jesus as the eternal Son, nor yet in the sense which can
apply to all created beings, but as denoting that intimate relationship
with God made possible for believers through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Most important of all, these words are the revelation of a firm resolve,
of a great molding purpose; Jesus perceived that it was his duty to be in
the house of his Father--not merely in the literal Temple, but in the
sphere of life and activity of which the Temple was the great expression
and symbol and sign. He had determined, that is, to devote all his
thoughts and energies and powers to the definite service of God. At the
age of twelve are not most children sufficiently mature to form a somewhat
similar purpose and to recognize in the service of God the supreme and
comprehensive duty of every life?

With this definite ideal in mind Jesus returned to Nazareth and continued
to live in submission to his parents, toiling for eighteen years as a
carpenter and in the quiet retirement of an obscure village receiving a
training for his public career which would have been impossible amidst the
formalism and the distractions of Jerusalem. His development was as
natural as it was perfect; he "advanced in wisdom and stature, and in
favor with God and men;" his bodily and mental growth were no more marked
than his increasing charm and spiritual power. Such development is
possible in the humblest sphere for those whose lives are yielded to the
will of God.

III. THE PREPARATION. CHS. 3:1 TO 4:13