At twelve years old, Jesus already understood His calling so clearly that He stayed behind in the temple while His parents traveled home. When they found Him three days later, His response wasn’t apologetic—it was matter-of-fact: “Didn’t you know I had to be about My Father’s business?” Even as a child, Jesus knew His purpose and prioritized it above comfort, convention, and parental expectations. This Christmas, His earliest recorded words challenge us: Are you about your Father’s business?

Your marketplace calling isn’t separate from your Father’s business—it’s one of the primary ways you conduct His business in the world. This principle transforms how we view our professional lives during this season because it reframes work from secular obligation to sacred mission. In God’s economy, being about the Father’s business doesn’t mean abandoning your marketplace role for “ministry”—it means conducting your marketplace role AS ministry. Jesus spent 90% of His earthly life in marketplace work before His public ministry began. Your calling matters to the Father’s business plan.

The holiday party was in full swing. Christian, a commercial real estate developer, made small talk with clients and colleagues, but internally he was wrestling with a question that had haunted him all Advent season: Am I really about my Father’s business, or just building my own empire with a Christian bumper sticker? The question had started during his church’s Christmas sermon series on Jesus’ early life. When the pastor highlighted Luke 2:49—Jesus at twelve, already clear about being in His Father’s house—Christian felt convicted. At forty-two, with a successful real estate portfolio, he wasn’t sure he could say the same thing with Jesus’ confidence. That night, Christian left the party early and drove to a property he’d recently acquired—a former shopping center in a struggling neighborhood. His plan was standard: renovate, attract high-end tenants, maximize returns. It was good business by every metric. But as he sat in the empty parking lot, he asked God a question he’d been avoiding: “Is this Your business or mine?” The answer that came wasn’t audible, but it was clear: “I didn’t give you real estate expertise to just maximize profit. I gave it to you to rebuild communities and create opportunities. Are you using My gift for My purposes?” Christian spent the next week reimagining the property through Kingdom eyes. What if instead of chasing maximum rent, he prioritized Kingdom impact? What if he recruited tenants who served the community—a job training center, a health clinic for the uninsured, a co-working space for nonprofit startups? What if he used his development skills not just to build wealth but to build the Father’s Kingdom? The numbers looked worse on paper. His partners questioned his judgment. But Christian couldn’t shake the conviction that this was what being about the Father’s business actually looked like in his profession. He wasn’t abandoning real estate—he was finally using it for its Kingdom purpose. Two years later, that property had become a community hub. The job training center had placed over 200 people in employment. The health clinic served thousands of uninsured families. The co-working space incubated a dozen nonprofits that were now thriving. Christian’s return on investment was lower than it could have been—but his Kingdom ROI was immeasurable. More importantly, Christian could now answer the question that had troubled him: Yes, he was about his Father’s business. Not by leaving real estate for “full-time ministry,” but by conducting real estate as full-time ministry. His marketplace calling wasn’t separate from the Father’s business—it was how he conducted it. This Christmas, as we celebrate the incarnation of Jesus—God entering the marketplace of human existence—we’re reminded that the Father’s business isn’t confined to church buildings. It’s happening in offices, warehouses, boardrooms, and job sites where Kingdom-minded professionals are using their marketplace influence for eternal impact. The question Jesus posed at twelve still echoes: “Didn’t you know I had to be about My Father’s business?” The same question confronts every marketplace leader this Christmas: Do you know you’re called to be about the Father’s business—right where you are?

For Your Heart:

For Your Work:

For Your Legacy:

As you enter Christmas week, identify one specific way you could reorient your current work to be more clearly about your Father’s business—not by leaving your profession, but by conducting it with Kingdom priorities. Take one concrete step toward that reorientation this week.

Heavenly Father,

Forgive me for the times I've minimized the calling You've given me or wished for someone else's assignment. Thank You for placing me strategically where I am. Open my eyes to see the Kingdom opportunities that only I can see, and give me courage to step into the unique contribution You've designed me to make.

In Jesus' name, Amen.