WHEN Jesus was a very little baby, his mother took him to the temple, their church, and gave him to the Lord. I suppose they wrote down his name, as we do our Cradle Roll babies. If they did, I think we may call Jesus a Cradle Roll baby. I am sure that Mary and Joseph did all they could to help the baby to grow up a good, wise, loving boy. The dear little babies do not stay babies long; then their toys go and they want books, for they must learn a great deal before they are grown-up men and women. So Jesus’ toys were soon put away, and he began to study just as you do. He grew bigger and stronger every day. At last he was as big as you; then bigger, until he was as big as your brother or sister.

Do you know someone who is twelve years old? At last Jesus got to be so old. At that age a boy was no longer a Cradle Roll baby, nor even a child. Jesus’ mother said that now he could go with her and Joseph and their friends when they went up to Jerusalem to church. Did you ever go on a journey? How did you go? On the cars. Were you glad to go? You got tired, I know. A picture of Joseph and Mary and Jesus on their way to Jerusalem would show you that they all walked. It was a long, hard journey, for they not only had to walk all the way, but they had to carry all their bundles. They went in a company, so they had a nice time talking with their friends as they walked. Then when tired or hungry, they would stop by the way in the shade of some great rocks—for in that land rocks are found oftener than shade trees.

You can make a picture of this journey in your mind. Think of the wall of the city of Jerusalem and the open gate; inside the wall is the church, or temple; there is a road of sand, and on both sides of the road are a few trees and a good many rocks.

At last they all reached the city, and slept and rested and ate their food, then bathed and dressed in their best clothes, and went to the temple to worship God and hear about his law out of the Bible.

All this was very wonderful and beautiful to Jesus. He began to understand that God was his Father, and that he had some very great work to do in the world. He was so interested that when it was time to start for home he stayed after all the rest left, and went back to the temple. Perhaps he had been allowed to go by himself and did not know they had started home.

Mary did not miss Jesus for some time. She thought he was with his young friends having a good time. At last she became frightened, for she found that he was not with any of these friends. Oh, how frightened she was! Her beautiful boy that she loved more than her own life, was lost! I once knew of a very lovely boy who was lost all night. How his mother cried, and how we looked for him all night! In the morning his mother was the one to find him, then her sorrow was changed to joy.

Mary and Joseph left their friends and went back to the city. In her heart Jesus’ mother knew where to look for him. Can you think where he was? They found him in the temple talking with the teachers. They were talking about God’s law. They had their books, reading and studying together. These books were made of strips of parchment or paper fastened at both ends to round sticks and rolled up.

When Jesus saw his mother and knew how she had grieved about him, he left the teachers at once and went back home with her and Joseph. He told them that he knew God was his Father, and that he must be about his work. But quickly and lovingly he obeyed his mother and went with her, even though he longed to stay.

Do you think Jesus was about his heavenly Father’s business when he obeyed Mary and Joseph and went home so lovingly with them? He surely was, for some of his work that he came to earth to do was to show children how to treat their parents. One of the great laws of God is, “Children, obey your parents.”

Jesus loved to be in the temple, but he quickly and cheerfully went home with his mother and Joseph. I think that as he and his parents were with many of their dear friends, he was allowed to go around among them and with them when they went to the temple, so when his parents left he perhaps did not really know when his mother started. Do you think she was careless to go off and leave him? No, I am sure she was not; she no doubt thought he was coming along with his aunts or cousins or his little friends in the company.