So when they had performed all things according to the law of the Lord, they returned to Galilee, to their own city,
Joseph
and Mary were committed to God and to each other. This gave a stable foundation for a solid
home life.
The
foundation is crucial. Recall what Jesus
taught:
“Therefore whoever hears these sayings of Mine, and does
them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock: and the
rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and
it did not fall, for it was founded on the rock. “But everyone who hears these sayings of
Mine, and does not do them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the
sand: and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on
that house; and it fell. And great was
its fall.” (Matthew 7:24-27 )
Joseph
and Mary’s stability is seen IN THEIR OWN DEDICATION.
And when eight days were completed for the circumcision of
the Child, His name was called JESUS, the name given by the angel before He was
conceived in the womb. Now when the days
of her purification according to the law of Moses were completed, they brought
Him to Jerusalem to present Him to the Lord (as it is written in the law of the
Lord, “Every male who opens the womb shall be called holy to the LORD”), and to
offer a sacrifice according to what is said in the law of the Lord, “A pair of
turtledoves or two young pigeons.” (Luke
2:21-24 )
The
key phrases are: “according to the law” (v.22);
“as
it is written” (v.23); “according
to what is said” (v.24). A solid foundation is laid on bedrock
Biblical truth. Jesus said that those
who built on the rock are, “whoever hears
these sayings of Mine, and does them.”
(emphasis added)
The
adoptive father Joseph and the biological mother Mary demonstrated stability IN
THE OFFSPRING’S DEDICATION.
Now when the days of her purification according to the law
of Moses were completed, they brought Him to Jerusalem to present Him to the
Lord (as it is written in the law of the Lord, “Every male who opens the womb
shall be called holy to the LORD”) (Luke 2:22-23 ).
We
give our children back to God who gave them to us. They are on loan to us, but we must
acknowledge that God’s purposes for them, rather than our plans, are
paramount.
No
child is an “accident.” We may not have
planned the pregnancy—certainly Mary did not!
Yet, God from all eternity had this birth conceived in His mind before
the Child was conceived in the womb. So,
it is for God’s surprises to us which are never a surprise for Him!
There
are seasons of the year when God blesses our congregation with these tiny
ones. We will have a baby dedication for
parents and infants. In doing this, we
are publicly following the Biblical example and exhorting fathers and mothers
to privately model that dedication.
There is no saving efficacy to our action. Each child has to make their own commitment
to Christ when they come of age. What we
do is covenant to pray for their soul and partner with the parents as a church
to create an environment conducive to lead them to repentance and regeneration.
We
cannot guarantee a child will grow up to follow Christ because of parental
commitment, and, thankfully, we do not assume a child must reject faith because
parents fail to follow Christ. Some grow
up in a model home and spurn the faith of father and mother. Some grow up in a hellhole and are rescued by
a loving Heavenly Father. What we can
guarantee is that in providing a spiritual climate most fertile for sowing the
seed of the Gospel and cultivating the soil of their soul, that the best
opportunity is provided for young folks to come to Christ.
There
is hope for the family that has parents who build a home on a stable foundation
of knowing and modeling God’s Word in faithfulness.
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