Th Last Resort

Imagine a loved one lying in the hospital in critical condition after a horrific car accident. The doctor in charge comes walking down the hall way toward the waiting room where you wait anxiously to hear any news on the current situation. The doctor looks directly into your eyes and hesitates to say what he needs to say. “There is nothing more can do. All we can do now is pray”. Wrong! Praying to God is not a last resort to any situation in life. Whether it be searching for an answer or asking for help, God should never be the last person you ask but the first person you ask. The finding of Jesus in the Temple applies to our lives today because people attempt to find the answers in everything physical or Earthly rather than going directly to God; the one with all the answers.

In Luke 2:41-52, Luke tells us the story of young, twelve year old Jesus staying behind in Jerusalem after an annual feast. Mary and Joseph , who figured Jesus was with them, set off towards home. After a full day of traveling Mary and Joseph realized Jesus was not with them and headed back towards Jerusalem; searching vigorously and asking anyone and everyone they knew. Three days went by before Mary and Joseph found Jesus in the Temple where He was conversing with the teachers. When Mary asked Jesus why He would do such a thing to them, His response was “How is it that you sought me? Did you not know that I must be in my Father’s house?” (Luke 2:49). This just goes to show that we, as people, tend to stray from God and forget that He is the first person we should go to for anything. When Mary and Joseph finally looked in the Temple as their “last resort“ it goes to show that even people living today look for God in all the wrong places. Today people look towards other people or things to help them before they ask God. The Temple symbolizes God in the sense that it is the last place we look for an answer.

The story of Jesus in the temple was a foreshadowing then of how people would live their lives in the future: putting their faith in God in the backseat. For the majority of people, it seems as if we try to find an answer in drugs or medicines, false idols, or even other people before we consider asking help from God. It is not bad to pray to God to help us in our lives but it should not be the only time we talk to him. Especially when people try to compromise with God because they do not want to deal with the hard times in their life. “I’ll be good for the rest of my life if help me get out of debt by winning the lottery” or something to that affect.

In conclusion, people go through their daily lives without ever speaking to God unless they are in need of his help and nothing else will suffice. Anyone can pray or talk to God at anytime and one should not just pray to Him when everything else in their lives is going completely wrong. God should not be a last resort. Just as in the story on Jesus in the Temple, we should not look for an answer anywhere else but in God. God should never be the last person you call on but the first.