Praying for the Spiritual Growth in Loved Ones

  When my wife, Penny, was pregnant with our first child, I was preparing to teach a class on the life of Christ. My life circumstances gave me a special interest in the birth narratives that are found in chapters one and two of Luke’s gospel. My heart also yearned to know about the childhood of Christ. For this reason I found myself poring over the text of Luke 2:41-52. In this passage I observed a number of characteristics of maturity in the boy Jesus. I saw how Jesus had a desire to learn. In fact, in this time of separation from his family and relatives He manifested His wisdom in the way He used His time. He also exhibited an ability to converse with adults by being able to be an attentive listener and an active learner who...