Jesus' parents lost him...

Mason is pumped to be at WyldLife!

It was another great Friday @ Founders! Kids were there starting at 6:45 even though things don't really get going until 7:07. We don't mind at all though because it gives us a chance to hang out more and spend more time getting to know them. We blew through 6 dozen doughnuts by 7:10, and I'm thinking we might need to start bringing more doughnuts... not the worst kind of problem to have! Its pretty crazy how many kids love waking up a couple hours early on Friday mornings to come to WyldLife!

Getting ready

The game this week was one that we played at summer camp this year. Its a game of tag with a twist. Everyone finds a partner and then spreads out. One team is chosen to split up, one person being "it" and the other person running away. The person running can link up with other teams of two in order to escape, but then one of that team is now getting chased... it may sound confusing but its a lot of fun, and the kids had a blast.

Matt Berry on the hunt.

It was really fun watching some of the kids get super into the game. One of the best things about this game is that it forces kids to connect with each other. Peer groups are important. Its important for early adolescents to have a group of friends that they feel they "belong to." These groups can be seen as cliques, but they are an important part of adolescent development. So, while we don't really see these groups as a bad thing, we want to encourage kids to begin to look outside of these groups and think about being friends with other kids. This game is great because it makes kids begin to do that.

Grant and Matthew getting everyone excited for Eat the Menu!

Grant gave the talk this morning. He talked about getting lost as a kid once. He was grocery shopping with his mom at a Super Walmart, and while his mom bought the food, he would play with toys on the toy isle. One time, he lost track of the time playing with some toy puppies (yeah, puppies... classic). He couldn't find his mom and right when he was about to freak out, they started calling for him over the loud speaker.

He was safe, and his mom was comforted when she saw him emerge and run towards her.

The realization of being lost is a terrible feeling, and, as a parent, the realization that your kid is lost is even worse. One time my oldest daughter started playing hide-n-seek with me at a Spots Chalet without telling me we were playing this game. As I called out for her, and looked and looked, I started getting more and more panicked. It was so relieving when I found her and realized she was never lost (although we had a serious talk about not doing that in the future!).

In the Bible we don't have very many stories of Jesus as a kid, but there is one from when Jesus was 12. Its found in Luke 2:41-49.

In this story, Jesus and his family are returning from an annual trip to the Temple in Jerusalem. This was the custom of Jewish people during that time. As Jesus' family was traveling back, a day into their journey they realized Jesus was missing. I can't imagine how this must have felt as a parent. Not knowing where my daughter was in a store was hard enough, I can't believe losing her on a trip and not realizing it until a day of travel was over!

After realizing he was nowhere to be found, they booked it back to Jerusalem, and after 3 DAYS they found him... sitting in the Temple, with the teachers, listening to them and asking questions.

I would have had some words for my son, and Mary and Joseph did as well. As they scolded and questioned Jesus for treating them that way, and basically ignoring them as they departed, Jesus answered saying, "Why were you searching for me? Didn't you know I would be in my Father's house?"

His parents weren't too keen on this answer, and the Bible told us that he returned with them and, "was obedient to them."

Grant had a few takeaways from this passage. First, Jesus was a 12 year old. At one point, Jesus was the same age as a bunch of the kids that come to WyldLife. Jesus had to learn what it meant to be obedient to his parents, he had to learn the balance of being completely human, but yet more than that. Jesus had to learn what it was to respect and honor his parents, while still being God and knowing, in a way we may never understand, that God was his true Father.

Also, Jesus was incredibly smart. The Bible tells us that even at 12 years old, the teachers he was sitting with were amazed at Jesus' knowledge of things. Jesus was a 12 year old, and Jesus was God.

Lastly, Grant asked everyone to think of the place were they are most comfortable. For Jesus, it was in the Temple, his Father's house. For us it could be a number of places. Its important for kids to have a safe place, a place where they can be totally secure and comfortable. A place where they can ditch their masks, the things they do to make themselves acceptable to others. It is important to have a safe place because we need a place where we can let our guard down and rest. These places help us find our identity. This was a part of the process for Jesus, and it is vital to our own process of discovering who we really are.

On a side note. I think its important to realize that God is a Father. He was Jesus' father in a very practical and special way, but he is also our father. God is a Father that will never leave, that will always love no matter what, always forgive no matter how terrible the mistake, always chase after the kids that wonder off, and always guide his children, even when they don't recognize him. God is a loving, and everlasting Father in a very real way.

God is a GOOD FATHER... he is these kids' father, he is your father, and he is my father. Accepting and understand this more and more has had incredibly deep implications. It has become my identity, and helped me get through some incredibly hard and lonely times. Knowing God as your Father can have the same implications for you and for these kids. It is the reason why I love getting to do Young Life so much.

World record of the day: most middle schoolers chasing a Frisbee with $5 taped to it!