"Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus:" (Phil 2:5) "And he said unto them, How is it that ye sought me? wist ye not that I must be about my Father's business?" (Luke 2:49) The mind of Christ! What I find most intriguing about the life of Jesus is that he had such great conviction and consciousness of who He was, why He was here, and what exactly He should be doing even at the age of 12! This was the age at which children are still struggling to overcome childhood. Their biology, physiology, psychology and everything about them is still resetting to welcome the pending teen age. It is a time when most children begin to fantasize about who they want to be. It is a time when they are easily and readily influenced by environment, peer pressure and idealism. It is a time when most children are lost in the oblivion of their own mind, as they perceive the world through coloured spectacles. But Jesus already knew who He was and what He was supposed to be. And the conviction with which He proclaimed it showed He didn't just realize it then; He must have realized a lot earlier than when He was 12. If we must be like Christ, we must adhere to Paul's message to the Philippians to acquire the same mindset that Jesus had. The first key to the success of Jesus' life and ministry here on earth was that He knew exactly what He was called to do. Direction comes from discovery. If we dabble into things aimlessly, we will keep doing much but producing little effect. First step: discover "your" Father's business. Know why you are here..
Child of God, we have a very limited time here on earth to spend it on guess works and trials-and-error. The sooner we discover God's purpose for our life, the sooner we can begin living. Notice how Jesus said, "My" Father's business. He wasn't generally talking about being preaching the gospel or healing the sick and all those things; although in Jesus' case that was "His" Father's business. But it is not the case for everybody. I strongly believe that "God's" business includes and extends into business, politics, academics, industry, etc; and He will need His children to be about His business in those areas as well. The secret to being an effective son is to discover what purpose the Father wants you to serve. And when you discover it, you activate your grace.