People liked Him, and He pleased God.
Jesus went with them (his parents) to Nazareth and was obedient to them.
But his mother kept in her mind all that had happened.
Jesus became wiser and grew physically.
People liked him, and he pleased God.
(Luke 02: 51,52)
Thirty years of preparation for three years of ministry. These thirty years, for Jesus, were under mother's care, father's harnessing and enjoying the joy of living with relatives and neighbours. Growing physically, mentally and socially, Christ Jesus as a young man, was loved by everyone around.
As a carpenter's son, he would have involved himself in learning the vocation, made an expert out of himself. As the eldest son to his mother, Jesus would have involved himself in learning the households one by one. And above anything, right from his childhood he would have had friends to play with, a neighbourhood that knows him by name "Jesus." The Saviour of the World prepared himself in every possible way to serve; to save this world out of the mess it had created.
From his childhood friends to the people who welcomed him into the City of Jerusalem singing "Hosanna", everyone loved him. Loved him for what he was, and what he promised to be. Friends would have been coming calling him all the way to his house "Jesus.. Jesus.. come let's play." When he grew up, became a young man of his twenties, he would have had people who requested him to join with them in having some fun. But we are sure that Jesus, who knew the scriptures by heart and the law by practice, would have filtered and screened every single step.
What surprises me is this. Look at that amazing secret that the last verse of the passage we have read today. "People liked him, and he pleased God" (Luke 02: 52). Isn't that amazing? People around Jesus liked him, but Jesus was not getting involved in pleasing the same people in return so that he would be loved more. Instead he pleased God. People liked him, and Jesus, in every single thing he did, he pleased God.
As children who serve the true living God, we are called to be so. We are called to live as the light of this world. We are called to be a lamp in the midst of the darkness in this world, and as a consequence, people would start admiring us, appreciating us and like us. But the most important thing we have to remember is, not to start pleasing these people who like us in return, but to please God. Let the cross be in front of us always, and let our service, our ministry and our lifestyle be pleasing to God.
As we continue to please God in our lives, we would understand, that the more we please God, the more we become likable by the people around us. But if we diagnose that we are on a way that is aiming at pleasing the people who are around us, then remember, we are on the wrong track. We need to do a quick check up of the goals and targets we have set. We need to see God in them. Are those goals and targets pleasing to God? Yes, then let's go ahead. If it is a 'No' then pause, stop and return back to the right track.
People liked Jesus, and he pleased God.
Thousands of people around would like us, but we need to please God and not the people.
Only then, you are running a God-driven race, doing a God-centered ministry and living a God-filled lifestyle. Let's take it as an assurance. It may be at your own home, your workplace, among your friends, and even at your church. Let us not please people so that we would be likable, but let us please God. The rest is an amazing story.
I pray, our hearts and minds would always look up to God and our whole life would be centered around pleasing Him and Him alone.
Yours in Christ,
