Beach

What would Jesus have learned as the son of a carpenter? What experiences would this have exposed him to? Jesus was willing to do what his parents wanted, even when it didn't seem directly related to his purpose on earth. He was patient with the apparent mundane tasks of this life, realizing life experiences have value. While he never intended to be a carpenter, he would have had exposure just by the fact he was Joseph's son. Since the Bible says so little about Joseph, we are not sure how long he was alive and involved in Jesus life. So, it's hard to guess how much experience /exposure Jesus had to the trade of carpentery. But, he probably did have some experience just by living with Joseph and spending time with him. As belivers we can take comfort in knowing Jesus was doing the will of God and God was pleased even though every minute of his life wasn't directly related to ministry (especially in his growing up years). There are many things we do in our day to day life that do not relate to eternity directly, yet we can have peace and joy if we know we are in the will of the Father. God sees behind the scenes and is using tasks and jobs that seem of no eternal value to shape us and teach us. The Mark 6:3 passage points to Jesus being a carpenter, I think the significance here is in Jesus being ordinary, from an ordinary family. Obviously Jesus was a teacher/Rabbi as his main purpose here on earth. The people who were having trouble with this were the people from his home town who remembered Jesus as "a carpenter" or ordinary. I think this applies to us, who have a past this is not impressive. While we may be a changed person now, it is often the people who remember us from years ago who have a hard time seeing us for who we are now.

Q5. (Luke 1:42-43) In what sense are the titles "Blessed Virgin Mary" and "Mother of God" appropriate for Mary? Why are we sometimes hesitant to exalt her as "blessed among women"? The titles "Blessed Virgin Mary" and "Mother of God" are true in describing Mary. She was a virgin, blessed and was choosen to be used of God to be his mother on earth when he was on earth. I think hesitancy comes from the fact that she was the mother of Jesus while he was on earth. She wasn't the mother of God in the sense she created God or was before God in any way. I think Mary was blessed with a special opportunity to be used of God. She was, however, a vessel, used by God to accomplish His purposes. God uses believers today to accomplish His purposes in the same way. God is to be exalted and given all honor. I think we are hesitant to exalt her for fear of forgetting the fact that she was completely human. As a human who was submissive God's will, any kind of exhaltation that would take away from God's glory and honor would be wrong.

Mary was at a point of submission to God, not in word only but in deed. It's easy as Christians today to say I will submit to God, but when push comes to shove, am I willing to deny my will and allow God to have his plan in my life? Our response to God is full surrender even in our lack of understanding, believing as Robert T. Ketcham said, "Your heavenly Father is too good to be unkind and to wise to make mistakes."