Reflections
The Carpenter’s Son
And when he was come into his own country, he taught them in their synagogue, insomuch that they were astonished, and said, “Whence hath this man this wisdom, and these mighty works? Is not this the carpenter’s son? Is not his mother called Mary? and his brethren, James, and Joses, and Simon, and Judas? And his sisters, are they not all with us? Whence then hath this man all these things?” (Matt. 13:54-56)
Accounts like this one tell us that for the first 30 years of His life, Jesus maintained a low profile – He did not teach and He did no miracles. He simply lived the routine life of the carpenter’s Son. The life of Jesus was, in fact, so normal-looking, that those among whom He lived for those 30 years were utterly astonished – some were offended – that He would now begin to teach and refer to Himself as the Son of God.
But despite living a life in relative obscurity, it was a sinless life to God’s glory – indeed those 30 years in obscurity prepared Him, not only for His ministry, but for the work of eternal Redemption.
There is a lesson in this for US. Do we think that the only way in which God can achieve His purpose in us is if we are living some dramatic life? That we need to be in ministry? That He must use us to build churches? To heal the sick? To convert thousands? That we must work signs and wonders? None of these things were necessary for Jesus, the Son of God. He developed His relationship with His Father by being the carpenter’s son — unto God’s glory.
What God is doing in us through Christ is not merely for this age. Ultimately, it is for the ages to come. Thus, whether God uses me in this age in a big way, or simply lets me live a rather mundane life, the issue is whether Christ is being formed in me.
Every THING that God uses to form Christ in me will pass into history. But what will remain and will be taken into the ages to come is only that which is OF CHRIST.
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