If you are a parent, you probably do not have to envision the following scenario, because you have already lived it. The scene may be taking place at this moment. But work with me here.
Imagine that you are a parent of multiple age children. You have retreated to a quiet place…maybe to a nice warm bath feel relaxed…you hear a persistent knock at the door and a familiar tiny voice. The youngest child finds you.
“Mommy/Daddy! What are you doing?”
“Mommy/Daddy!” knock, knock, knock.
Relaxing time is up for you.
But…instead of yelling, “Go away!”, you take a deep breath, put on your robe, unlock the door, then greet the kid with a smile and hug.
The youngest crawls up in your lap, and you proceed to read a book…after book, after book, teaching valuable lessons along the way.
Time continues to pass along, and you continue nurturing your child without hesitation.
When I read Luke 9:10-the first three words of verse 12, this is what I had pictured in my head. Here, read them for yourself and envision the above scenario:
10 When the apostles returned, they told Jesus everything they had done. Then he slipped quietly away with them toward the town of Bethsaida. 11 But the crowds found out where he was going, and they followed him. He welcomed them and taught them about the Kingdom of God, and he healed those who were sick. 12 Late in the afternoon…
Then…the imagery doesn’t stop there. Continue reading verses 12-17 and the following scene:
While your once relaxing warm bath water has now gotten cold, another familiar voice lingers in the air. The eldest sibling says, “Hey, my friends and I are getting hungry. Let’s eat.”
The parent replied, “Okay. Go cook something.”
After opening the refrigerator to investigate, then staring blankly at the shelves in the pantry, the eldest child whiningly says, “There’s nothing here to eat.”
The parent takes a deep breath, slides the youngest child from their lap, and proceeds to the kitchen. They grab a variety of items from the pantry. Opening the freezer and choosing a handful of veggies and meat, mom/dad begins to dump all ingredients into a large pot, and shakes tasty seasonings into the mixture.
Mom/Dad makes enough to feed the neighborhood, so there are plenty of leftovers for another day.
12 Late in the afternoon the twelve disciples came to him and said, “Send the crowds away to the nearby villages and farms, so they can find food and lodging for the night. There is nothing to eat here in this remote place.”
13 But Jesus said, “You feed them.”
“But we have only five loaves of bread and two fish,” they answered. “Or are you expecting us to go and buy enough food for this whole crowd?” 14 For there were about 5,000 men there.
Jesus replied, “Tell them to sit down in groups of about fifty each.” 15 So the people all sat down. 16 Jesus took the five loaves and two fish, looked up toward heaven, and blessed them. Then, breaking the loaves into pieces, he kept giving the bread and fish to the disciples so they could distribute it to the people. 17 They all ate as much as they wanted, and afterward, the disciples picked up twelve baskets of leftovers!
You see, Jesus is the Ultimate Parent. He was exhausted and was slipping away quietly. But…He was found. He lovingly nurtured the children. He took care of their needs.
When you accept Jesus Christ as your personal Savior, you become a child of God. He will always make time for you, teach you lessons, feed you (spiritually and physically), and will never leave you alone.
Is He your Parent? He can be. Believe in and accept Him today.
Blessings to you and yours,
Stephanie