Suddenly

. . . and the Lord whom you seek will suddenly come to his temple.

 - From Malachi 3

Jesus, the boy, showed up at the Temple and amazed the scholars with his awareness, knowledge, and wisdom. 

His father was a carpenter. They were a working-class family. But I want to stress the word "working." Joseph and Mary worked very hard to make a great life for their family. God, the Father, placed His Son into a family of modest means. There is no doubt about that. 

But this modest family of Joseph and Mary was not some needy, dependent ward of the State waiting for a handout. They had a home. They provided for their sizable number of kids. They contributed to the community of faith. No doubt, they were charitable and moderate. They were respected and admired. But they did not draw attention to themselves like 21st Century Virtue Signalers. 

They were not wanderers. They were not homeless. They were not poor. They were not destitute. They were a rock-solid family with a father and mother taking care of the kids placed into their home by the God of Nature and Biology.

Because . . . God started with families. He stressed the family unit. He established nations around the extended lines of families that grew rapidly into uncountable populations. 

Christ had to be one of us. He had to relate to us. His background and upbringing would have to be typical. He would be a typical man that could relate to everybody. 

He would have a lot to lose. And He would lose everything. Just like so many of us. Just like any one of us that emerges into the lowest level of humanity. 

This boy, Jesus, walked into the Temple from His average, blue-collar neighborhood, and made the glitterati of society marvel. The elite of His time - the celebrities, the stars, the professional athletes, the highly-liked Social Media activists. Somewhere along the way, these people all heard about this kid from Nazareth. But like all passing fads, he faded from their conscious thoughts until a couple decades later, when He emerged, again, but more publicly. 

The boy, Jesus, just walked up to the Temple. It was in the middle of the daily routines of the leaders, movers, and shakers. They had work to do, people to see, and places to go. But this Boy came up, suddenly, and changed their plans for the day. And all He did was engage in conversation with them.

He comes suddenly, seemingly, any time He shows up. 

In this present age, He has taken, so far, over two millennia to show up. And I find it a brilliant move on the part of the Father. 

Make them . . . make us . . . wait. Let us get immersed in the designs of humanity, and the vain machinations of our "influencers."

God has made it so that suddenly really will be sudden, the next time Jesus shows up.