Accept Your Confusion

A Tim Keller Sermon Summary

We do not always understand why God lets certain things happen, but we are not the first to have such confusion. Let’s look at how Christ confused Mary and Joseph.
 
When he was twelve years old (a year before adulthood in their culture), Jesus went with Mary and Joseph to Jerusalem for Passover. When the event was over, His parents left for home with a large group, but Jesus stayed behind discussing with teachers in the temple (Luke 2:41-52).
 
A day later, when Mary and Joseph found out Jesus was not with them, they went back to Jerusalem to look for Him. After three days of searching, they found Him. Mary was not pleased, asking why He treated them like this. In response, Christ questioned why they did not know He had to be in His Father’s house (v49).
 
During this event, Jesus called God, not Joseph, His Father. In the Old Testament, God is rarely referred to as Father. Basically, Jesus told them His relationship with God was much more important, and He did not have to obey them. Mary and Joseph were disturbed by how Christ treated them. They did not understand what He was talking about (v48-50).
 
James Elliot was speared to death while trying to evangelize to Indians in Ecuador. Shouldn’t God have protected him? Later, his wife Elisabeth explained: God’s plan is beyond us, and we should accept it as is.
 
Often, we are confused by what God does in our lives. We do not understand why we are in huge storms. 
 
Accept them. Hold onto His love for us. Christ, the almighty God, came on earth to serve us till death. We should contemplate what we know about Him and treasure our experience of Him (v51). Gradually, through grace, we will grow in our understanding of Him. Meanwhile, keep trusting and serving Him.
 
Summarized from a Tim Keller’s sermon:
https://gospelinlife.com/downloads/jesus-at-his-father-s-feast-5439/



接受我们的困惑
 
我们时常不明白为什么上帝让某些事情发生。我们并不是第一个有这样困惑的人。让我们来看基督曾如何让马利亚和约瑟感到困惑。
 
耶稣十二岁那年，祂与马利亚和约瑟一起去耶路撒冷过逾越节。在他们的文化里, 祂还差一年就成年了。 守满了节期，当马利亚、约瑟和一大群人离开时，祂独自留下来与圣殿里的老师讨论 （路加福音2：41-52）。
 
过了一天以后，马利亚和约瑟发现耶稣不见了，便返回耶路撒冷去寻找祂。经过三天的搜寻，他们终于找到耶稣。马利亚不高兴，问祂为什么要这样对待父母。耶稣反问他们为何不知道祂必须在祂父的家里（路加福音2：49）。
 
在这件事中，耶稣称上帝（不是约瑟）为祂的父亲。在旧约时代，上帝很少被称为父。基本上，耶稣在告诉自己肉身的父母，祂与上帝的关系重要得多，祂也不必服从他们。基督的行为使马利亚和约瑟感到不安，他们不明白祂在说什么（路加福音2：48-50）。
 
詹姆斯·艾略特（James Elliot）在厄瓜多尔(Ecuador)对印第安人传福音时被刺死。难道上帝不应该保护他吗？后来，他的妻子伊丽莎白解释说：“上帝的计划超越了我们，所以应该接受发生的一切。”
 
今天，我们时常对上帝在我们生活中所做的事感到困惑，不明白祂为什么让我们面临巨大的风暴。
 
接受这些暴风骤雨吧！持守祂对我们的爱。基督,全能的神, 来到世上服侍我们，为我们死在十字架上。默想我们对祂的认识，珍惜在祂里面的经历（路加福音2：51）。籍着恩典，我们将逐步更多地认识祂。与此同时，继续信靠祂，服事祂。