About My Father's Business: Jesus Secures Our Inheritance

Devotional

Day 1: Seek Jesus Where the Father’s Work Is

When anxiety rises and you can’t seem to find what you’ve lost, remember where Jesus chose to be found—near the Father, absorbed in His work. The scene in Jerusalem shows a boy calm in the temple while worried parents search everywhere else. You don’t have to run in circles; look for Him where He promised to meet you: in His Word, in worship, in prayer, and among His people. He invites you to step out of the noise, remove distractions, and listen. In the places saturated with the Father’s presence, you rediscover the peace you were hunting for all along. [44:58]

Luke 2:46–49 — After three days they found Him in the temple courts, sitting among the teachers, listening and asking questions; everyone was amazed at His insight. His mother said, “Why have you done this to us? We have searched everywhere in distress.” He answered, “Why search all over? Didn’t you know I must be about my Father’s work?”

Reflection: When worry spikes this week, where will you intentionally go first to seek Jesus—what time, place, or practice will you choose to meet Him in the Father’s presence?

Day 2: God Works Good Even Through What Hurts

God’s goodness is not fragile; it holds even when life breaks our expectations. He is not merely improving our comfort—He is aiming at our everlasting good. Even diagnoses, funerals, and unanswered questions are gathered up by His wisdom and turned toward an inheritance that cannot spoil. You’re allowed to grieve honestly and still trust that He is not wasting your pain. Jesus is committed to the “better thing,” shaping you for eternity while walking with you today. [49:17]

Romans 8:28 — We are confident that God is weaving every circumstance together for good for those who love Him and are called according to His purpose.

Reflection: What specific burden are you carrying right now, and what small, honest step could you take this week to entrust it to God’s good work (a prayer of lament, a conversation, a journaled surrender)?

Day 3: Your Unshakeable Identity: Child and Heir of God

In Christ, you are not merely helped—you are adopted. Grace has named you, claimed you, and secured an inheritance no diagnosis, bill, or grave can steal. When shame whispers or fear shouts, remember: you belong to the Father because Jesus was faithful to His business. Let this identity steady your steps and soften your heart toward others. Each day can begin with the simplest confession: “I am Yours, and that is enough.” [54:35]

Ephesians 1:7–14 — In the Son we have rescue through His blood, the release of our sins, and grace poured out richly. God unveiled the mystery of His plan: to gather everything in heaven and on earth under Christ. In Him we were chosen to receive an inheritance, and we were marked by the Holy Spirit as the guarantee that what He promised will be fully ours to the praise of His glory.

Reflection: What competing label most challenges your “child of God” identity, and how will you practically remember your adoption each morning this week?

Day 4: The Sword and the Cross: Love That Suffers

Simeon’s words to Mary remind us that real love sometimes carries a sword’s edge. The cross was not tidy or quick; it was costly, and she stood there to witness love poured out. There are moments when “God will work this for good” should be held quietly, while presence, tears, and prayer do the speaking. Jesus’ suffering shows that the Father’s business includes entering our pain to redeem it from the inside out. Hope is not denial—it is the steady light that remains when words should be few. [52:19]

Luke 2:34–35 — Simeon said, “This child will cause many to stumble and many to rise in Israel, and He will be a sign that people resist—so that the hidden thoughts of many are exposed. And a sword will pierce your own soul too.”

Reflection: Who around you is carrying fresh sorrow, and what gentle, non-fixing act of presence can you offer them this week?

Day 5: Join the Father’s Business: Share the Good News

Grace does more than comfort us; it commissions us. The Father reconciled you through Jesus and now invites you to carry that reconciliation into a weary world. This isn’t about perfect words but a willing heart, honest story, and simple obedience. Ask for courage, take a step, and trust that God makes His appeal through ordinary people who know they are loved. The world needs what you have received. [01:04:02]

2 Corinthians 5:18–20 — All this is God’s doing: through Christ He brought us back to Himself and entrusted to us the task of helping others be restored to Him. God is speaking through us, urging people, “Come back to God!” We represent Christ as His ambassadors.

Reflection: Name one person God has placed on your heart; what is one simple step—an offer to pray, a personal story of God’s grace, or an invitation—you will take this week to share the good news?

Sermon Summary

A vivid portrait unfolds from Luke 2: a 12-year-old Jesus remains in Jerusalem while His family departs, sending Mary and Joseph into a three-day panic. The scene is human and honest—parents who love their child, frantic with fear, and a Son who calmly reveals a deeper allegiance. “Why were you looking for me? Did you not know I must be in my Father’s…?” The moment reframes expectations: Jesus is not lost; He is located precisely where His mission places Him—about His Father’s business.

That business is not merely temple attendance but the eternal plan of the Father. Ephesians 1 names it: redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, and the securing of an inheritance for God’s people. From boyhood to cross, the trajectory is steady—uniting all things in Christ and making enemies into sons and daughters. This is why Romans 8:28 can be believed without cliché: God works all things for good, not by upgrading our comforts, but by securing our eternity. It does not trivialize grief—funerals, chronic diagnoses, terminal news—but insists that even these sorrows are carried within a larger, sturdier hope.

Simeon had already named the cost: a sword would pierce Mary’s soul. The cross would expose the real shape of “the Father’s business”—Jesus, beaten, bleeding, and dying within Mary’s sight. Yet from that very place comes the inheritance: forgiveness, resurrection, and adoption. The good is not the absence of pain but the gift of a future beyond it—a new creation where loss cannot return.

Therefore, identity precedes endurance. Those in Christ are God’s children, baptized into a name nothing can cancel—not cancer, not bills, not death. That identity frees believers from demanding that this life carry the weight of eternity and moves them to bear witness with compassion. Forgiven people become ministers of reconciliation, speaking good news that does not flinch at suffering yet refuses to surrender hope. Jesus spent His whole life about the Father’s business, and the result is a people who belong, who are kept, and who are sent.

Key Takeaways

1. Jesus prioritizes His Father’s business His absence from the caravan was not disobedience but devotion. He orients His life around the Father’s will, not human expectations, even good ones. That reorients disciples to ask not “Where is He?” but “What is the Father doing?” The faithful life is learning to love that priority. [45:37]
2. God’s good exceeds present comfort “All things work for good” doesn’t promise ease; it promises an inheritance secured through Christ. This reframes pain without minimizing it, letting grief be honest while hope is stubborn. God’s aim is not a nicer now but a redeemed forever that reshapes the present. [48:35]
3. Redemption secures an imperishable inheritance Ephesians anchors the story: forgiveness through His blood and a guaranteed inheritance in Christ. The plan is cosmic and personal—uniting all things while adopting particular sinners as children. The cross and resurrection are not detours; they are the blueprint. [46:17]
4. The sword and cross interpret pain Simeon’s prophecy prepares Mary for a pierced heart, showing that salvation comes with real cost. The cross explains why suffering can coexist with God’s love—because He entered it to end it. Pain is neither final nor wasted in the hands of the Crucified. [52:19]
5. Adopted children with unshakeable calling Identity in Christ is not fragile; nothing can take it away. From that security flows a calling—to carry a reconciling word to a hurting world. Loved people, forgiven people, become sent people. [54:35]

Youtube Chapters

[00:00] - Welcome
[07:13] - Gathering and prayer for openness
[36:24] - Jesus at twelve introduced
[37:12] - A father’s painful anecdote
[38:05] - Losing Jesus on the journey
[40:55] - Jesus with the teachers
[43:27] - Found in the temple; Mary’s anguish
[44:58] - “In my Father’s…” identity
[46:17] - The Father’s business: redemption
[48:35] - All things for ultimate good
[50:40] - Cross and resurrection trajectory
[51:51] - Simeon’s sword and Mary’s pain
[54:11] - Adopted as children; secure hope
[57:13] - Forgiven, sent to share good news
[64:02] - Prayer and community invitations

Bible Study Guide

Bible reading

- Luke 2:41-52

Every year Jesus’ parents went to Jerusalem for the Festival of the Passover. When he was twelve years old, they went up to the festival, according to the custom. After the festival was over, while his parents were returning home, the boy Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem, but they were unaware of it. Thinking he was in their company, they traveled on for a day. Then they began looking for him among their relatives and friends. When they did not find him, they went back to Jerusalem to look for him. After three days they found him in the temple courts, sitting among the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions. Everyone who heard him was amazed at his understanding and his answers. When his parents saw him, they were astonished. His mother said to him, “Son, why have you treated us like this? Your father and I have been anxiously searching for you.”

“Why were you searching for me?” he asked. “Didn’t you know I had to be in my Father’s house?” But they did not understand what he was saying to them.

Then he went down to Nazareth with them and was obedient to them. But his mother treasured all these things in her heart. And Jesus grew in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and man.

Observation questions

In Luke 2:41-52, where do Mary and Joseph finally find Jesus after three days, and what is He doing when they find Him?
What does Mary ask Jesus when she sees Him, and what does that reveal about her three days of fear and exhaustion?
Jesus answers, “Didn’t you know I must be about my Father’s…?” How does the note that the Greek doesn’t include the word “house” (could be “business”) sharpen what He means? [45:37]
After this temple moment, how does Jesus relate to His earthly parents according to the passage?

Interpretation questions

When Jesus says He must be “about [His] Father’s …,” what is He revealing about His identity and priorities, and how does that reframe where people should expect to find Him? [45:37]
This scene includes very human parental fear and what could feel like a “fail” (“one of the bigger parenting fails”)—what might God be showing about grace and limits in family life? [36:24]
How does Simeon’s word to Mary—“a sword will pierce your heart” [51:51]—help interpret both Mary’s anguish in Luke 2 and what she would one day see at the cross?
“All things work together for good” [48:35]: according to the broader biblical story, what kind of “good” is in view—comfort now, or an inheritance secured in Christ? How does that matter when reading Luke 2?

Application questions

Where have you been asking “Why?” lately—about loss, confusion, or delay? Take a moment to name it. What would it look like to bring that “Why?” to the Father who calls you His child? “Why?” [55:34]
Think of a present pain you carry (a diagnosis, grief, financial worry). How could the promise of an imperishable inheritance help you endure with stubborn hope this week? “It’s cancer and it’s terminal…” [49:17]
Jesus lived “about [His] Father’s …” [45:37]. If you rearranged one part of your week to align with the Father’s business, what would you change? What would you pick up? What would you let go?
Identity first, endurance second. You are a child of God, and “nothing, nothing, nothing can take that away.” Where do you most feel that identity is threatened, and how can you preach this truth to your heart? “To make you a child of God.” [54:11]
“Why were you looking for me?” [44:58] Where do you tend to look for Jesus when life goes sideways? What might it mean to look first where the Father’s work is clearly happening—in Scripture, prayer, the Lord’s Table, and the life of the church?
Who is one hurting person you could pursue with a word of honest hope this week? What would a gentle, non-flinching, non-cliché “good news” sound like to them? “Ministers of reconciliation” [57:13]
If you’re a parent or caregiver, share a time you felt panic over someone in your care (“can’t find him”) [39:27]. How did God meet you? What rhythms can help you rest in the Father’s care the next time fear spikes?

Sermon Clips

And we need to give them some grace. Right? Why? Because their kid was perfect. They've experienced twelve years of perfect child. Now, he he grew up. He he would have been he he would have cried. He would have skinned his knee. He would have done all those things, but he would have been obedient every moment all the way. [00:39:04] (23 seconds) #GiveGraceToGrievers

at times, we go that that can't possibly be. Right? When you are sitting at your wife's funeral, you're going, that can't possibly be what is best for us. When I am in the hospital with my wife hearing a diagnosis for my son that he has type one diabetes and it'll be for the rest of his life, we're going, that can't possibly be for the good. That that's not for the best. When you are sitting in the doctor's office and he's giving you the diagnosis, it's cancer and it's terminal, you're going, that that That's not for the best. That can't be for the best. [00:48:49] (40 seconds) #WhenItDoesntMakeSense

All things in this broken world, he is working to give you an inheritance. Jesus' whole life was to give you an inheritance, to take you to take you beyond this life, to give you something more than everything this life has to offer. Well, I'd love for you to be really comfortable. I'd love for you to not have any debt. I'd love for you to be healthy your whole life. I I I'd love for your kids to never get lost. I'd love for you to never have to deal with the death of a child or a loved one. [00:49:29] (40 seconds) #BeyondThisLife

But Jesus wants something better for you. He he wants you to live beyond this life. He wants to give you an inheritance in Christ. He wants to give you a resurrection with a new body, a new hope. He wants you to reunite with your loved ones who've gone before you, but not reunite and lose them again one day. Reunite and be in eternity and perfection in a way that's well beyond anything we can understand. That is Jesus being about the father's business. It was all to take him to the cross, to suffer and die, and to rise for us. [00:50:09] (41 seconds) #InheritanceInChrist

See, if you're Mary in that moment, go, I want the first part. I'll take all of that. Let's skip the sword in my heart part. What's the sword in her heart? It's standing at the foot of her son's cross. Him there naked, beaten beyond human likeness, Him there bleeding out, Him there dying for her and for you and for me. Him being about the father's business. The father's business is Jesus on the cross suffering for all of our failures, and all of our mistakes, and all of the death that mankind has experienced. [00:52:10] (42 seconds) #JesusAtTheCross

It's God giving you something better. Can you imagine walking up to Mary while she's staring at her son dying on the cross and going, you know God's working this for good. Not the moment, but he was, and he is. The things you face, the trials you go through, all of them are to point you back to the God who loves you. The God who has overcome for you. The God who lived and suffered and died and rose for you. You are saved by grace, and you have an inheritance. [00:53:07] (52 seconds) #TrialsPointToGod

You are loved. And at times, life in this world is gonna be pretty good, and at times, it's gonna be pretty rough. But in all of it, you have a God who says you're mine. A God who says, I sent my son, and he spent his whole life being about the business of the father, which was to make you a child of God. And that is who you are, and nothing, nothing, nothing can take that away from you. [00:53:58] (31 seconds) #ChosenAndLoved

You are saved by grace, baptized in the name of the father, son, and the holy spirit, and nothing can take that gift from you. And one day, you're gonna get to live in the fullness of his grace because God loves you, because Jesus was about his father's business. We have good news to share with a broken world. Our God is good. [00:54:57] (29 seconds) #SavedByGrace

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