I Must

Luke 2:48-51
When Jesus' parents are traveling back to Nazareth from Jerusalem, they suddenly realize that Jesus is not among them.  They locate him back in Jerusalem in the temple.  When they ask him why he has done this, he responds, "Did you not know that I must be in my Father's house?"  To be in the Father's house meant to be with the Father.  In those days the Holy Spirit had not yet come, so one had to go to the temple to be with the Father.  Jesus' word "must" here indicates a non-negotiable, non-optional, affectionate, loving desire to be with his true Father.  He must be with him, and that meant going to the temple.  This meant more to him than being with his own mother and father and relatives (vs. 43).  He could not bear to leave the Father's house/presence.  And this is not unique simply to Jesus because he is the Son of God.  Philippians 2 tells us that Jesus took the form of a servant, becoming just like we are.  He was no different in his life than we are in ours, experiencing the same things we do, only without sin.  He modeled norms for us, not exceptions.  Or look in this same chapter at Simeon and Anna.  Simeon was led by the Holy Spirit into the temple to see Jesus, in essence to see the Father (John 14:9).  And after seeing him he counts his life complete, worships, and then happily consenting to death (vs. 27-30).  And Anna is described as never departing the temple, but praying and fasting night and day (vs. 37).  She also met Jesus.  Do we see the attachment they had to the Father and being with him as much as they possibly could, in the same pattern as Jesus?  How could we ever describe this way of life as unique or exceptional, including, the same as Jesus did, the forsaking of familial relationships (Luke 14:26)?  It is to be expected.  So let us ask the question, would we confess that we must be in the Father's house, as is typical of a Christian?  And by this I don't mean simply going to church.  They did not go to the temple to be entertained or see friends or hear a good message or fulfill their Christian "duty".  As we noted earlier, to go to the Father's house meant going to be with the Father, to encounter the Father, because in those days, before the Holy Spirit had come, he dwelt there for his people.  Now that the Spirit has come, we can be with the Father at any moment, at any place.  So the question for us takes on a different perspective.  If we say that we must be in the Father's house, we are saying that our time is spent with him throughout our day, devoting every moment we possibly can to be with him in worship and prayer.  He does not get the leftovers or spare time we have left, but gets the first-fruits.  Otherwise, we cannot confess, as Jesus did, as Simeon and Anna modeled, as is expected of any true Christian, that we must be in the Father's house.  If we base our time spent with the Father, in his house, as time spent at church then we have severely missed it.  Going to church is fine and great, but the question is do we desire to encounter the Father, not simply go to church?  Then look at your daily life and this will answer the question, not your church attendance.  I wonder, if we still had to go to the temple to be with the Father, would we ever go at all outside of Sunday morning?  I fear we would not, because we do not even go to him now, and we don't even have to go to a temple.