Only a parent can understand the horror of missing a child. Even if the event only lasts for a few minutes in a crowded supermarket. Thousands of terrible thoughts go chasing through mind in just a few seconds. Blind panic takes over and no logical thought is possible.
Therefore how terrible it must have been for the parents of Jesus, travelling a whole day thinking he was in the care of relatives only to find he was not travelling with them at all. At twelve he was nearly a man in that culture, but not quite. So he must still be in Jerusalem. The day travelling back was not quite so cheerful. Where could he be, what had happened to him? They would probably start by looking at the previous lodgings but with no success. It took three days before they looked in the temple. In their relief no wonder they spoke sharply to him. ‘Son, why have you treated us like this?’
If Jesus wanted to know more about his father, surely I can want to know more about God.