What will you be when you grow up?
There’s a surprise packed in the answer to that question. I noticed it as I was reflecting on the birth of Christ in my journaling.
I found myself wondering, “How would those who knew Jesus personally have answered that question about him?”
As I read the account of his life, it seemed that even those who knew him best really didn’t know what was going to unfold in his life—or theirs. To put it in a word, they were simply astonished.
His parents, Mary and Joseph were astonished at the things said about him at his birth, his interest in spiritual things at a young age, and the miracles he performed when he was an adult.
His best friends, the disciples who followed him, were equally astonished at his miracles, at how deftly he took on the religious establishment of his day, and especially to see him rise again following a tortuous death.
But can you really blame them? There’s never been anyone like Jesus before or since. How could they possibly know that someone could heal so many, suffer an agonizing death, and rise from it? That was totally new territory. It’s why Jesus had to remind them, “With God all things are possible” (Matthew 19:26).
There’s no question, Jesus led an extraordinary life on earth. He astonished everyone.
Why should’t those of us who follow Him expect to likewise be a little astonished—and to astonish others—by what we become when we grow up?
What’s surprised you so far about your life?