Jesus' Pre-teen Years
 

“And the child grew and became strong; he was filled with wisdom, and the grace of God was upon him."   Luke 2:40 (NIV)     

Reflect

Here we read a wonderful and simple summary by Luke of Jesus’ early childhood years.   There is nothing here that is fanciful or miraculous.    His life and growth were normal and wholesome.  

This did not “just happen” because He was God incarnate.   Jesus was raised with four brothers and at least two sisters.   Because Jesus experienced a “fully human” childhood (Hebrews 4:20) his parents, young as they were,  certainly exercised loving discipline.    They would have taught their children prayer, the Bible (our Old Testament), reliance on God, virtue, the value of hard and good work, and character and how to achieve it.  

How does this compare to our parenting goals?

Prayer  

“Lord, I am thinking of the words “strong”, “wisdom”, and the “Grace of God”.     Help me to grow in those areas myself so that I can pass them on as a legacy to my children and my children’s children. Amen”