My Father’s Business – A Life Directed by Love
As we continue learning what it means to love like Jesus—to see, feel, speak, and even remain silent like Him—we quickly discover how difficult that calling really is. Yet the life of Jesus reminds us of something crucial: He lived fully as a human being, just as we do. His love wasn’t effortless because He was God; it was intentional, rooted in something deeper.
One of the clearest glimpses into that “something deeper” comes from a single story in His childhood. At just twelve years old, when His parents found Him in the temple (Luke 2:46) after three days of searching, Jesus responded, (Luke 2:49)“Didn’t you know I had to be about my Father’s business?” or “I must be in my Father’s house,” depending on your translation. This moment reveals a defining pattern for His entire life. His priority was always to be in His Father’s presence, listening for His Father’s direction.
This pattern continues throughout His ministry. Whether at the wedding in Cana, where He quietly turned water into wine, or when His brothers pressured Him to seek public attention, Jesus consistently responded with an awareness that His timing and actions were not His own. He lived according to His Father’s will, not the expectations of others. His repeated phrase, “My time has not yet come,” shows a deep dependence on God’s timing and guidance.
So how did Jesus love with such depth, wisdom, and compassion?
He didn’t do it alone.
Jesus lived in constant relationship with the Father, guided by the Spirit. He only did what He saw the Father doing and followed where the Father led. Even in the Garden of Gethsemane, we see that His ultimate act of love—choosing the cross—came through surrendering His own will to the Father’s.
This is the key for us.
We are not called to love like Jesus through our own strength. Like Him, we are invited to live lives rooted in God’s presence, listening for His voice, and relying on the Holy Spirit for both the what and the how of love.
To be “about the Father’s business” is not about striving harder—it’s about staying closer.
And as we do, we will find that the same love that shaped Jesus’ life begins to shape ours too.
From the Zebra Bag 