"Will YOu Leave Jesus Behind?"

This post is based off a recent sermon given by the pastor of my church, which was inspired by the passage of scripture Luke 2:41-50. The scripture tells the story of Jesus being left behind at the temple by his family.

After accepting Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, what kind of life do you lead? Is Jesus the leader of all that you do, or are you so caught up in the festivities of life that you don't realize before it is to late that Jesus is no longer at your side? Jesus' family loved him so much, yet they still unknowingly left him at the temple. They assumed that when the family left that Jesus was also leaving with them. They went on with their day, visiting family and friends and retuning home before they realized Jesus wasn't with them. Then they went to look for him at their friends and relatives places, thinking he was there, and they were surprised when their friends and family knew nothing of him. It took them a while to figure out that Jesus was at the temple. When they went back to get him, Jesus said to them "why did you seek me, did you not know I'd be about my father's business."

You've accepted Jesus into your life, then you go on with your life, being disobedient to him; drinking, drugs, cursing, promiscuity, and/or other compromising moral issues. Then before you know it, Jesus is no longer with you and you may wonder why. The only way to get back to Jesus is to go back to the place where you left him. The only place we can find him when we feel lost, is to look where we left him behind. We can't just keep starting over anew each time we want to feel closer to God. You're going to have to pray to the holy Spirit first to show you where you left Jesus, and then you are going to have to repent. Jesus is left behind when you are disobedient. [The pastor spoke to the teens in the audience, saying that they better get straight A's because everything they do should be for the glory of the Lord.]

We get so caught up in what we're doing that we forget to bring Jesus with us. We assume that because we are a born again child of God that everything is okay, that surely Jesus is always with us. We can't afford to make that assumption. We don't intentionally leave Jesus behind, yet it happens. God should be our first priority. In all that we do we should put our trust in him, and let the Holy Spirit guide us through life. If the Holy Spirit isn't the one impowering us and guiding us to do God's will, then we will find that things just aren't going to work. Going through the motions of being a Christian means nothing. We need to seek God. Live for Jesus, don't leave him behind. **Everything you do needs to be for the glory of God.** Ask yourself, "Is it me doing it or is it he doing it through me?"