Have you ever lost a
child...for days? Some might say they have lost their children for a lot longer
than that, to the digital world. It may not be physical anymore, but it sure is
possible for communication to be lost for many days. Some things never change. We
all know the feeling of getting swept up with something and have it consume us,
so much so that we lose our focus or even what is happening around the world at
the time.
I have seen it with
all ages with online video gaming. I have seen it when the test match cricket
is on in Australia. I saw it recently in Las Vegas in the casinos. When you are
inside them just walking around you literally can lose time and get lost in the
sheer size of the buildings. I have seen it when a craftsman is creating
something with their hands and I could go on. It is not a new thing for someone
to be lost for days, consumed and uncontactable. It doesn’t even have to be a
bad thing, at times it may even be a necessary thing.
The more important
question is “what consumes you”, “when can you be lost, and for how long?” I was reminded today as I read Luke 2, of
when Jesus was a boy and the time he was lost for 3 days. We often focus on the
thought of the irresponsibility of the parents, and yet today I wondered, what
was Jesus thinking? After the third day in the temple, didn’t he wonder what
his mum and dad might think? Where did he sleep at night? Wasn’t anyone else
concerned with this young boy in the temple with no supervision? I thought of
my son, telling me about his mates starting a video game one day and then
realising before they knew it, it was the next day and they better eat
something, as they continued to play. Like my son, Jesus was so consumed with
what he was doing, that sleep, eating or what his parents thought may not have
even come into his mind.
When it comes to my
kids, these are the things that keep me up at night. Why do they do this and
what should my response be? I have been known, once or twice, to talk to my
kids about my concerns of the time wasted on playing video games and watching
endless You Tube “fails” for hours on end, and they just roll their eyes at me
and keep at it. I realised today I have been focusing on the issue of wasting
time, lost time, the issue of being consumed, as if it is a new thing for this
generation. Actually it is not new at all. In fact I do it too and have always
done so. To make it worse, I don’t understand why they don’t get that it is
alright for me to get lost in movies for hours on end, but not alright for them
to get lost in their phones. I realise now it is the CONTENT, the message, the
learning, the shaping of our minds that scares me, not always the time spent in
the activity. The real issue is WHAT they are consumed with, what world they
get lost into.
When the parents of
Jesus found him on the third day and said to Him “Why have you done this to us?
We have been so anxiously searching for you.”(Luke 2:48), Jesus response was
... “Didn’t you know I had to be in my Father’s house”(Luke 2:49). For three
days he was LOST and consumed with sitting among the teachers, listening to
their and asking questions. What parent wouldn’t love to see their children get
LOST, CONSUMED with being with God? It
is certainly my prayer and desire to see that for my children and everyone.
This is a pattern we see right through Jesus’s life, needing to leave the
crowds and be with His Father. That chapter finishes with a statement that
challenges me as a parent every time I read it. “And Jesus grew in wisdom and
stature, and in favour with God and man. (Luke 2:52)”. If that doesn’t sum up
what we are called to model and encourage in our children as parents then I
don’t know what could say it better. As a Pastor, I feel we have lost FOCUS of
what we are modelling for the next generation about what is means to BE IN MY
FATHER’S HOUSE. Mostly the biggest challenge for me today is the little word
HAD. “Didn’t you know I HAD to be in my Father’s house?” What do we think we HAVE to do today, that is
more important than HAVING to be with our FATHER?
In the “lucky” country
we live in, where there is not a minute that you can’t be consumed by
something, what CONSUMES you? What do you HAVE to do? What are you modelling
for those around you? When I ask my children around the dinner table tonight –
what did you do today? How I would long to hear them say “Didn’t you know I HAD
to be in my Father’s house!”
