A Carpenter

Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary and brother of James and Joses and Judas and Simon? Mark 6:3

Ever pictured Jesus working as a carpenter, during the years before His ministry?

Joseph, Jesus’ earthly father, worked with wood, teaching his son the trade.

I can imagine Jesus making a table or a chair. Maybe working on a house.

While I’m not sure what all carpenters created in Bible times, I do know this: it would be incredible to find something He made! Am I right?

Imagine going to an estate sale in Nazareth, finding a bowl with his initials. Or maybe a chair.

Maybe carpenters didn’t sign their work back then.

Guessing the wood hasn’t lasted all these years, waiting to be unearthed.

But it sure would be neat, wouldn’t it?

Then I thought about something else: do you think Jesus enjoyed working with wood?

Probably. We know He was worked in this trade until God called Him into ministry.

Do you think it was hard for Him to leave the trade?

I bet He couldn’t wait to spread His Father’s plan to our needy world.

But that doesn’t mean Jesus loved leaving his trade. The life He had always known as one of us.

But God called Him to His higher purpose. The very reason for coming down to earth.

Think maybe Jesus missed working with wood from time to time?

But that’s life, isn’t it? And that’s exactly what Jesus came to do: to live like us before taking away the sins of the world.

When God calls you forth into something new, it’s not necessarily because you’re leaving something bad.

Jesus didn’t. Working as a carpenter wasn’t bad. It was a good honest way to make a living.

But God’s higher calling came and Jesus followed.

Does God have something new for you? You might leave a good thing for something better.

Doesn’t mean you won’t question your decision after seeking God’s will.

Doesn’t mean you’ll always be happy, thinking about leaving.

But it does mean this: God has taken care of you and He will continue to do so. Wherever He calls you to go.

So walk confidently within God’s plan as you continue seeking His face above yours.

Like Jesus, God may ask you to leave something you love to fulfill His greater purpose written just for you.