Enter into Luke 2:41-52.
41Every year Jesus’ parents went to Jerusalem for the Festival of the Passover. 42 When he was twelve years old, they went up to the festival, according to the custom. 43 After the festival was over, while his parents were returning home, the boy Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem, but they were unaware of it. 44 Thinking he was in their company, they traveled on for a day. Then they began looking for him among their relatives and friends. 45 When they did not find him, they went back to Jerusalem to look for him. 46 After three days they found him in the temple courts, sitting among the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions. 47 Everyone who heard him was amazed at his understanding and his answers. 48 When his parents saw him, they were astonished. His mother said to him, “Son, why have you treated us like this? Your father and I have been anxiously searching for you.”
49 “Why were you searching for me?” he asked. “Didn’t you know I had to be in my Father’s house?”50 But they did not understand what he was saying to them.
51 Then he went down to Nazareth with them and was obedient to them. But his mother treasured all these things in her heart. 52 And Jesus grew in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and man.
First of all, we need to give mad props to the holy family for traveling with children every year. As Jesus was twelve years old, likely by then, there were more children to keep up with. I can’t imagine the number of snacks Mary had to pack.
This passage offers us a unique glimpse into the childhood and adolescent life of Jesus.
Part of the work of childhood and adolescence is the establishment of our kingdom or queendom.
Christian Philosopher Dallas Willard defines kingdom as the “range of our effective will.” God’s kingdom then is where his will is followed. As is God’s generous way, each human being is given a kingdom or queendom, which is what “dominion” in Genesis 1:26 is about.
The human agency to govern our own life and what belongs to us is God given. We hear the peals of this governance in the two-year old’s cry of “No” and “Mine.” The child is testing the boundaries of their queendom and often times clashing with other nearby kingdoms, like yours!
Like all human children, Jesus learned his boundaries and even flopped his toe over the edge to see how far was too far.
He used the question, “Why were you searching for me?” and “Did you not know that I must be in my Father’s house?” as boundary markers. Jesus is without sin; therefore, this boundary testing isn’t off the mark, but right in line with human development.
Verses 51 and 52 show us that once he located the boundaries, he honored them. This not only was a gift to his mother, who treasured it in her heart, but the process also helped him to grow and develop.
He leaned into his agency, tested boundaries, and asked pressing questions.
In verse 46, we see his personality coming forth, he was “listening and asking questions.” When we wander through the gospels, we see that this was his way, he was developing into a person who listened and asked questions.
Notice the questions -and even the push back- that your children offer, how can you help them to establish their kingdom or queendom?