Heaven's Agenda

Jesus’ mission in the earth was made up of several components. He died for His bride, fully redeemed His creation, purchased a people for His Father, and created many sons. From adolescence, to adulthood, we see the maturation process He underwent to accomplish His mission. Jesus was willing to leave whoever, to remain positioned in the will of His Father. We can see this in His life when he was 12 years old.

It was a yearly custom for Mary and Joseph to travel to Jerusalem for the Feast of Passover.  One year, after the Feast, they began to journey home to Nazareth, but Jesus lingered in Jerusalem. Joseph and Mary thought Jesus was with them and did not realize He was still behind. They traveled an entire day’s journey and looked for Him amongst family and friends but did not find Him. They went back to Jerusalem and after three days of looking, found Him in the temple listening to the teachers and asking questions. Everyone that heard was astonished at His understanding. Jesus’ parents were amazed when they saw Him. Mary asked why He had done this to them as His disappearance caused anxiety in their search. In response, Jesus stated:

^{Luke 2:} 

⁴⁹ And He said to them, “Why did you seek Me? Did you not know that I must be about My Father’s business?” ⁵⁰ But they did not understand the statement which He spoke to them.  (NKJV) 

One translation says,  

49 ……“Did you not know that I had to be in My Father’s house?” (ESV)  

It’s interesting that Jesus asked His earthly parents why they were even looking for Him, as if they had forgotten for a moment that He was the Son of God. Perhaps, Jesus expected this to be at the forefront of their minds, yet it wasn’t. Even though Mary and Joseph did not understand Him, Jesus had no problem walking away from the earthly title of “son” to walk in divine Sonship. In fact, by His sentiments, it was a necessity and an obligation for Him to be in His Father’s house, being about His Father’s affairs.  

Jesus felt free to be in the temple; in the presence of God where He belonged.  Although, in the passage, He did not recognize Joseph as His Father, Jesus still showed respect for His earthly parents and went back to Nazareth with them and submitted Himself to them. He then advanced in wisdom and physical growth and found favor with God and those around Him. These events were so impactful that Mary surely would not forget them moving forward.                                                    

 Luke 2: 

⁵¹ Then He went down with them and came to Nazareth, and was ^[m]subject to them, but His mother kept all these things in her heart. ⁵² And Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and men. 

As with Jesus, I believe it is a necessity that Born-Again Believers are free to walk in sonship. With Jesus as our model and Holy Spirit as our guide, we must prioritize our commitment to the Father’s will and be willing to sacrificially walk away from anyone and anything at any time to follow the Lord with a pure heart. While we respect the people in our lives and are open to receiving wise counsel from other mature Believers, it is important that we are not fearful to remind anyone of our obligation to our Father’s plan should we need to. What we think is obvious about our walk, may not be so to others.

Although Jesus was in the temple, which represents the presence of His Father, He was in continual relationship with His Father in everything He did (John 5:19). Jesus did not do His own will. Life’s hurts, distractions and deceptions can easily cause Believers to use “walking in sonship” as a way to “do their own wills,” refusing to receive wise council and misinterpreting the Scriptures and the leading of the Lord. Sonship should not be used in this manner. Allowing the Lord to heal hurts, remove distractions and reveal deceptions, along with cultivating a relationship with Holy Spirit and seeking and waiting on His promptings allows us to boldly submit to the Father as Jesus did, ensuring we are being led properly and not out of offense, or of the flesh. We must also take any council we receive to Holy Spirit and ask Him to reveal what is true for us. When we take these approaches, we know we have sought His will, we can walk away from whoever, and whatever, to remain in His will.

In part 2 of this topic, we will observe Jesus fully submitted to the Father in adulthood and one of the sacrifices He made to be free to walk in Sonship to complete His mission.

-Lia

02/18/2026