Where is Jesus?

Daily Devotional – Thursday, March 16, 2023
So when they did not find Him, they returned to Jerusalem, seeking Him.
Luke 2:45 (NKJV)

Jesus was attending the Passover Feast in Jerusalem with Joseph and Mary, His earthly parents. This family was among many others that had made the pilgrimage from Nazareth. When the festivities were over, therefore, his parents assumed Jesus was in the traveling party.

Seeking Him in Jerusalem

A day into their return journey, Joseph and Mary realized Jesus was not among the other Nazarene boys. “Where is Jesus?” They asked in panic. Now, they remembered the time God had instructed them to flee to Egypt to save Jesus from King Herod’s sword. How more careless could they be with the Messiah?

“So when they did not find Him, they returned to Jerusalem, seeking Him.” (Luke 2:45). It took the couple another three days of frantic searching to locate Jesus. How relieved they must have been to see Him! Interestingly, they found Him sitting among religious teachers and actively debating divine issues.

Where is Christ?

Like Joseph and Mary, Jesus is symbolically in our custody because we have accepted Him as Lord and Saviour. However, like the couple from Nazareth, we may have lost Jesus because of spiritual complacency. We may assume all is well because we attend church and perform other religious rituals.

However, if we love giving excuses for sin instead of condemning it and repenting, Jesus is absent in our lives. When we become nominal churchgoers without a spiritual connection with Jesus, we have lost Him. If our Christian profession is at loggerheads with our attitudes, speech and conduct, we need to start looking for Jesus again.

Where is Jesus?

Take a moment today and ask yourself, “Where is Jesus?” Are you still traveling with Him? Is He actually in your heart and life? Is your faith anchored on a personal relationship with Jesus or on the experiences and testimonies of your parent, spouse, spiritual brethren, friends and colleagues?

Where will you find Jesus? In the same place where his worried parents found him – the house of God. Return to your primitive faith – that time when you believed every word from the mouth of the Lord. Jesus is waiting for you in the pages of the Bible, a life of obedience and fervent prayer.

Prayer
Lord Jesus, lead me back to a living practical daily walk with You.