The Bible has only one story about Jesus as a boy.  This is it.  It starts by telling us that Mary and Joseph took God's Word seriously.  The Old Testament was their guide to relating with God, with its instruction that every male must attend three festivals in Jerusalem each year: the feasts of Passover, Pentecost and Tabernacles (Deuteronomy 16:16).  Women were welcome, as were children when they could understand (Nehemiah 8:2).

The pivotal feast of the Jewish year was Passover.  It celebrated God delivering His people from slavery in Egypt some 1,500 years previously.  The Passover lamb was killed in thanksgiving to the God who rescued His people.  Mary and Joseph attended each year because they simply obeyed what God had said.  However poor they may have been or however difficult the journey, they joined with the rest of God's people to sacrifice and praise.  Little did they know that Jesus Himself would become the Passover Lamb, sacrificed to redeem us from an empty way of life (1 Peter 1:18-20), and the evil around us (Galatians 1:4).

At twelve years of age, Jesus was within a year of manhood.  It was time to be introduced to the heart of Israel's worship, and Jesus was included in the group going from Nazareth.  There is no indication in Luke's account that Joseph and Mary had any specific instruction about their parental role, beyond the promises surrounding His birth and the need to obey God’s law.  They did not know where it would all lead to, so they took the next step of obedience, and included Jesus in this celebration of God’s salvation as part of their family worship (Deuteronomy 6:4-7).

The greatest education any parent can give children is to show them that worshipping God is central to life.  This value, like any other, is both caught (demonstrating what is important) and taught (explaining why they are important).  Godly parents warmly include children in family and church worship: this is not just desirable but essential.  Even though Jesus was God the Son, He was taught how to worship His Father.  All of us are designed to worship God; but refusal to do so is the most dangerous course anyone can take (2 Thessalonians 2:10).  Wise parents will engage with their children in Bible teaching and worship from an early age.  When God ripens their understanding, they will have a seed-bed for faith, and they will know how to relate with the God who loves them.