Luke 2:40

This verse describes Jesus as a young child growing up in Nazareth. Luke — a physician and careful historian who wrote one of the four accounts of Jesus's life — gives us a rare summary of Jesus's early years. What makes this remarkable is that Jesus, whom Christians believe to be fully God, is also described in fully human terms: he grew, became strong, and developed in wisdom over time. This was not a performance of humanity — it was real. The phrase "the grace of God was upon him" points to a special divine favor resting on the child as he developed. This verse bridges the gap between Jesus's birth and his adult ministry, reminding us that even he had a growing-up process.

God, thank you that you don't despise the slow work of growing. Help me trust that your grace is on me not just when I arrive somewhere, but in the long, ordinary middle of getting there. Grow me in wisdom the way you grew your own Son — steadily, faithfully, humanly. Amen.

We have very few glimpses into Jesus's childhood, and that scarcity makes this one worth sitting with. He grew. He became strong. He was filled with wisdom. Luke, who was a doctor and a meticulous researcher, is telling us something real: Jesus went through the ordinary, unglamorous process of growing up. He didn't arrive on earth as a fully-formed adult with all the answers already downloaded. He learned to walk, probably stumbled. He learned carpentry, likely had calluses. The grace of God was upon him — but it accompanied a very human childhood. That should stop you if you've ever felt like you're not "there" yet — spiritually, emotionally, in your faith. If Jesus himself grew into wisdom, why do we expect ourselves to skip that process? Growth doesn't happen in a single crisis moment or one mountaintop experience. It happens in the ordinary Tuesdays, in the questions you sit with, in the small choices no one sees. The grace of God is on you in the process, not just at the destination.