Bible in a Year - Women’s Thematic Reading Plan | Day 71

Day 71 of the Women’s Bible Plan: Read Luke 2:41-52 and reflect on Mary’s experience of searching for the twelve-year-old Jesus and finding Him in the temple. Through this passage, this devotional helps women consider the holy mystery of raising children in the fear of God, learning to love, guide, release, and trust when we do not fully understand what God is doing. 

🌸  Dear Sister, welcome to Day 71 of our reading journey. 

The journey of raising children is not only about providing food, clothing, education, and future plans. It is also a journey of learning to release, trust, and fear God. As children grow, parents begin to realize that they do not belong completely to us. They have their own thoughts, growth, calling, and relationship with God.

Mary knew more than anyone that Jesus was not an ordinary child. She had heard the angel’s announcement, experienced the conception by the Holy Ghost, heard the shepherds’ testimony, and listened to Simeon and Anna speak in the temple. Yet when the twelve-year-old Jesus stayed behind in the temple, listening to the teachers and asking them questions, while Mary and Joseph searched for Him anxiously for three days, Mary still experienced real worry, confusion, and not fully understanding.

This passage shows us that even Mary had to keep learning as she raised Jesus. A child’s life carries God’s purpose. A parent’s love must be joined with reverence. And many things we do not understand right away must be kept in the heart as we wait for God to reveal them step by step.

A Minute of Grace

Luke 2:41-52 records the time when Jesus, at twelve years old, went with His parents to Jerusalem for the feast of the passover. After the feast ended, Mary and Joseph assumed that Jesus was among the company of travelers and went a day’s journey before realizing He was not with them. They returned to Jerusalem to search for Him, and after three days, they found Him in the temple.

Jesus was sitting among the doctors, both hearing them and asking them questions. All who heard Him were astonished at His understanding and answers. When Mary saw Him, she spoke with the real anxiety of a mother: “Son, why hast thou thus dealt with us? behold, thy father and I have sought thee sorrowing.” But Jesus answered, “How is it that ye sought me? wist ye not that I must be about my Father’s business?”

These words were not easy for Mary to understand. Mary and Joseph were Jesus’ earthly parents, truly responsible for raising Him, protecting Him, searching for Him, and caring deeply for Him. Yet Jesus’ words reminded them that He belonged first to the Father and that He came into the world with a mission from God. In this moment, Mary was brought again into deeper reverence: the child she raised was not only the son who grew up in her arms, but also the Christ sent by God.

Scripture says that they did not understand the saying which He spoke unto them. But Mary did not dismiss the moment simply because she did not understand it. The Bible tells us, “but his mother kept all these sayings in her heart.” This is a precious sentence. Mary’s faith was not that she immediately understood everything. Her faith was that even when she did not understand, she still reverenced, remembered, pondered, and waited.

Today’s theme, “Mary: The Child Jesus in the Temple,” invites us to reflect: When we raise children, walk with young lives, or care for the next generation’s spiritual journey, are we willing to acknowledge that children ultimately belong to God? Are we willing to release them in love, trust God while still caring deeply, and keep what we do not yet understand in our hearts as God leads them—and us?

Whispers for the Heart

1 When Mary and Joseph could not find Jesus, they experienced real anxiety and sorrow. Have you ever felt this kind of concern while raising children, walking with young people, or caring for the next generation? How can you bring those worries before God instead of being ruled by fear?

2 Jesus said, “wist ye not that I must be about my Father’s business?” This reminds us that a child’s life ultimately belongs to God. Are you willing to acknowledge that children are not extensions of a parent’s plans, but lives created, called, and led by God?

3 Mary did not fully understand, yet she kept these things in her heart. Are there things in your life—about children, family, relationships, or God’s leading—that you cannot fully understand right now? Are you willing to learn from Mary, not rushing to conclusions, but keeping these things before God with reverence as you wait for Him to reveal His work?

As you read Luke 2:41-52 today, do not see this only as a story of a child staying behind in the temple. Also see Mary as a mother who continued learning the fear of God through searching, anxiety, confusion, and listening.

Take a quiet breath before you begin. Bring your struggles about children, family, the next generation, releasing, and trusting before the Lord, and let His Word meet you there.

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🪕 Response Hymn:  

Luke 2:41-52 (KJV) 

41 Now his parents went to Jerusalem every year at the feast of the passover.

42 And when he was twelve years old, they went up to Jerusalem after the custom of the feast.

43 And when they had fulfilled the days, as they returned, the child Jesus tarried behind in Jerusalem; and Joseph and his mother knew not of it.

44 But they, supposing him to have been in the company, went a day's journey; and they sought him among their kinsfolk and acquaintance.

45 And when they found him not, they turned back again to Jerusalem, seeking him.

46 And it came to pass, that after three days they found him in the temple, sitting in the midst of the doctors, both hearing them, and asking them questions.

47 And all that heard him were astonished at his understanding and answers.

48 And when they saw him, they were amazed: and his mother said unto him, Son, why hast thou thus dealt with us? behold, thy father and I have sought thee sorrowing.

49 And he said unto them, How is it that ye sought me? wist ye not that I must be about my Father's business?

50 And they understood not the saying which he spake unto them.

51 And he went down with them, and came to Nazareth, and was subject unto them: but his mother kept all these sayings in her heart.

52 And Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favour with God and man.

🪕 Response Hymn:  

💡 Closing Thought · Keeping What We Do Not Understand in the Heart 

After reading Luke 2:41-52, we see that Mary was not a mother without confusion. She anxiously searched for Jesus, and she did not fully understand what He said. Yet she kept all these things in her heart. She did not abandon faith because she lacked understanding, nor did she deny God’s work because of worry. On the journey of raising Jesus, she continued learning reverence, remembrance, and waiting.

As we close this page and return to real family life, perhaps you are worrying about a child, praying for the next generation, grieving over a parent-child relationship, or struggling between releasing and holding on. Remember this: God knows children more deeply than we do, and He understands their path better than we can. A parent’s love is deep, but God’s love is deeper. A parent’s vision is limited, but God’s plan reaches farther.

May today’s Scripture remind you that when you do not understand, you can still keep these things before God in your heart. When you cannot control, you can still entrust your children to Him. On the journey of raising children and walking with the next generation, may you walk with God in reverence, wisdom, and faith.

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