APR 6

Luke 2:52
Memorise Romans 14:18-19
"Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favour with God and man"

HOW SHOULD WE RELATE TO OTHERS?

As we saw yesterday, Jesus spent his years growing up under watchful and dutiful parents. We realize also that he would have interacted with people around him in his home town of Nazareth. Are you curious as to how he was as a boy growing up? Luke 2:52 gives us a few clues, a glimpse into the childhood and growing up years of the Lord Jesus Christ. It simply states that as he grew, "Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favour with God and man". This is indeed a wonderful example for our learning, especially as we too are growing up, moving from youth to adulthood.

We want to focus especially on the second part of the sentence, where it stated that as Jesus grew mentally and physically, He also increased in his favour with God and man. This is not to say that there was a time where Jesus was less in favour and then he increased in it. But what we can understand from this phrase is that as Jesus grew and matured, He was constantly perfectly in favour with both God and man. He behaved and acted as a person of His age would have, but in a manner that always pleased God and also the people around Him. He never offended them, never had any reason to find fault with anything that He said or did. Basically in all His relationships, he was blameless! He can be said to have been the perfect example of an obedient child, one that every parent would love to have.

Dear Teen, this verse can be a description of you as well. If we take Jesus as our perfect example, and strive to pattern our lives after Him; if we seek the Lord and abide in His Word, then we too will certainly increase in wisdom and maturity, and also gain the favour of those around us. Most importantly, we will always have the favour of God in our lives. Is this something that you desire in your life? Do you care for the favour of God and the people around you? As we begin to become more independent, and meet different people through the different phases of life that we will experience, we must always be careful to ensure that we relate to others in a Christ-like manner. We must always be mindful that our purpose on this earth is to bear a good testimony for the Lord, and in so doing, be in favour with God and man.

Thought: I’m growing physically, but am I also growing in wisdom and in spiritual maturity?
Prayer: Lord help me to increase in favour with God and man.