Dear <<First Name>>,
Is not this the carpenter’s son? Is not His mother called Mary, and His brothers, James and Joseph and Simon and Judas? And His sisters, are they not all with us? Where then did this man get all these things?” And they took offense at Him. But Jesus said to them, “A prophet is not without honor except in his hometown and in his own household.” And He did not do many miracles there because of their unbelief. Matthew 13:55-58
One of the problems with walking with Jesus for a long time is the mistake of thinking that we are somehow beyond missing Him. As we grow in friendship and familiarity we can begin to take Him for granted, thinking that we know how He is going to act or think about something we are concerned about. Our familiarity can breed deceit of heart, offense toward His ways with us, and even unbelief.
This short episode in Jesus' life is played out again and again in the lives of those who "grow up with Him." Let's take a closer look. The first malfunction is to look at Jesus from a "natural" standpoint. Jesus is completely "other" than us. He is not who or what we think He is. He is so much more. When we lower Him to our level at any point, we will miss Him. I believe this is one of the reasons for so much rebellion, disobedience, and lack of commitment to Him and His ways. We think He overlooks our ways like we do. He doesn't. He longs for us to see Him in His Majesty as Lord of our lives.
We join this group in another way. They took "offense" at Him. When Jesus doesn't magically and instantly change our circumstances, we point our anger at Him. I cannot tell you how many times I have talked to people who are "mad at God." I get it, but this attitude leaves us to suffer defeat in our lives and relationship with Him.
Lastly, our familiarity leads to unbelief which leads to a reduced ability for Christ to act in our lives. I often see a cultivation of unbelief in my life and others I know. We can become convinced that something is beyond Jesus' ability to act on our behalf or our prayers.
The miracles He desires to work in our lives are often left on the table due to these attitudes. Search your heart to see if any of these symptoms of familiarity are present in your life. If they are, confess them, receive His grace and start moving back to the miracle zone.
Here is today's reading:
Tuesday's Reading
Love,
Pastor Stuart
|
