Luke 2:49-51"Why were you searching for me?" he asked. "Didn't you know I had to be in my Father's house?" But they did not understand what he was saying to them . . . But his mother treasured all these things in her heart.
As I was in the Baptist Church in Newcastle on Sunday the speaker spoke from the entire section that pertains to the only mention of Christ's life between his birth and his appearance on the scene at about age 30. His presentation has a bit abstract as most sermons I have heard here are give and take a few. They seem to pretty much lack the intimacy of being spoken to and not being spoken at or just listening to a tape. But as I struggled to stay attentive through this, these verse jolted something in my "liver"...lol...and I began in a sense to preach this in my spirit.
Our faculties are of such that it seems as if different parts of our beings sometimes function independently of the other yet we are one being. The body dies regardless of the fact that the spirit is everlasting and can't cease except by the command of God, who gives no hint that he will command such a think. The spirit of a terminally ill person brings joy to visitors while the spirit of a wealthy person brings the opposite. There are other times though when one facet affects the other in such a way that it brings to our mind how intricately linked these facets are. Pains in the body induced from mental fatigue or stress. Ulcers or even cancers developing because of unforgiveness in the heart.
The passage above in some way seems to put the mind and the heart before us functioning at different levels. The prefix to the above has Jesus being away from his parents for at least 5 days, it might be proper so assume a week since he was obvious in the temple while the feast was going on. Now any parent in this situation would need some kind of explanation from the child that would appease his or her understanding. his parents received no such thing.
I won't look on the statement as much as the impact of the statement. "They did not understand", which of us can claim full understanding or even adequate understanding of most of the statements of God or the mysteries of the Christian faith. For the most part our minds will forever thirst for understanding, at times we even grow frustrated because of this lack of understanding the foolish things of God let alone the profound things. Which of us can adequate fathom the process of redemption through the blood of Jesus or grasp the magnaminity of the incarnation; the Word becoming flesh. At best our minds let us down on these quests to conquer the mystery of the scriptures.
My own struggle as I read the books I have taken up a habit of reading these days, The Jesus I Never Knew - Philip Yancey, A Case for Christ - Strobel, has to do with the beginning of creation and the Creator. I try to philosophize an adequate explanation within my mind. A poem I wrote begins each verse with "the human mind is desigend to philosophize..." But not even the greatest of us can fully fathom the these mysteries that God has left us.
If we cannot understand these mysteries what should be our response. Mary leaves us the most appropriate one I have seen in my limited reading of scripture. She "treasured all these things in her heart." Although her intellect was not fed, her emotions were fattened. We do not need to understand the mystery to treasure and enjoy the ministry. Our heart has the ability to hold dear the things that our minds do not understand. Too many times we down play the importance of the emotions in right Kingdom living. I have been guilty in some sense of this in my relating to people who say "I just don't feel like it". While the "knowing" is important so is the "feeling". This heart connect with the words of Christ.
I do not understand in the least how the crucifixion and public disgrace of Jesus Christ 2000 years ago translates into my salvation and secures my life from the foe now and forever. But I must admit that I would not trade in the truth of this that I have treasured in my heart for an understanding of it. Too many times we allow the truths of God's Word to pass us by because we seek understanding. Don't get me wrong...we should seek understanding but not to the point where our hearts cannot treasure the "un-understood". The realities of the mysteries of God will be there until eternity becomes our dwelling place, until then treasure the ministry of His Word.
