They returned to Jerusalem. It took them three days to get back to what they'd lost in one day.
One of the things about your life with God is: if you let your life with God go - it takes more time to get it back again, than it does to maintain it.
If you let go your prayer life, your life in the word, your relationship with God - it seems to take longer to get it back again, than it does to lose it.
You can lose it quickly, but you've got to actually get back into a flow again, to regain that life with God.
They returned to Jerusalem, and they were seeking Him; so very simple - when we've lost that peace, lost that flow of the spirit, first: recognise that's what's happened.
1) You need to return. They returned to Jerusalem. The word ‘return’ is the same as the word ‘repent’.
We need to come back: God, where did I lose You? Where did I miss You? What is going on in my heart, that I need to change?
The evidence of: loss of peace, irritability, anxiety means: I'm no longer aligned with heaven. The spirit of God has lifted.
I now need to say: God, where have I missed it? What do I need to repent?
Repentance is just saying: Lord, in my thinking, in my approach, I'm out of order with You. I need to realign. What a great thing to do, to realign.
So the first thing was Repentance - they returned; they recognised something. Usually repentance means: God, I'm so sorry. Lord, forgive me that I allowed my mind and my heart to drift. Lord, forgive me that I allowed this to happen.
Just be quite specific and ask: God, Lord show me what it is that I missed.
2) We need to pursue.
I have found people take God very casually. I do not take Him casually - I pursue Him.
It said: “They sought Him diligently for three days”.
Think about what it would be like to lose a child in a big city; to have to try and find him in a city - that is scary.
The worst thing is: they didn't have a clue where to start looking.
When they finally speak to Jesus, Mary gets quite testy with Him. Notice her language: “why did You treat us like this?”
A lot of people talk to God like that. “How come you're treating me like this, what's going on?”
Notice the irritation in her - she was upset with Him. She was centred on herself, only her.
“Why did You treat us like this?” People get like that with God; you're getting into blaming Jesus; and Jesus made an interesting statement.
He said: “How come you've been worrying and stressing and seeking Me like this? Didn't you realise what I would be doing?”
He's saying: you've been raised in the law, you've been raised in the word of God. By now, you should have understood, that this is what would be normal for me to be doing - to be in the house of God, at my Bar Mitzvah, beginning my preparation for the call that is on my life.
They're saying: “how could you treat us like that”; and He said: “you're My parents - how did you not realise this is what would be happening to Me right now?”
He turned it right around on them. How did you miss this? You went everywhere looking for Me - why would you think I'd be there, or there, or there, or there?
I'm 12! I'm beginning to go into my new season as a young adult, when I'm going to be responsible to obey the law, so I need to be instructed in law.
The only place I would be would be “about My Father's business” - which is in the house of God.
So at the age of 12, He was connected to: who He was; and what He was called to do.