Then Jesus told them, “A prophet is honored everywhere except in his own hometown and among his relatives and his own family.” And because of their unbelief, he couldn’t do any miracles among them except to place his hands on a few sick people and heal them. —Mark 6:4-5 NLT
Today’s scripture was spoken by Jesus in His hometown, Nazareth, where He preached in their synagogue on a Sabbath.
Those who were in attendance, instead of paying attention to Jesus’ words, the Bible says: “…and many who heard him were amazed. They asked, ‘Where did he get all this wisdom and the power to perform such miracles?’ Then they scoffed, ‘He’s just a carpenter, the son of Mary and the brother of James, Joseph, Judas, and Simon. And his sisters live right here among us.’ They were deeply offended and refused to believe in him.” Mark 6:2-3 (NLT)
These were people who knew Jesus from when He was a young lad, and I bet most of them could tell Him His history—well, the bit they thought they knew. They also had intimate knowledge of His family!
They’ve heard about the miracles Jesus performed in other regions, but they couldn’t look past the fact that they knew Him well. They saw Him as the son of Mary and a carpenter, and not the Miracle Worker and Son of God. And because of their indifference and unbelief, they missed out on seeing miracles performed in their lives. They had the disease of familiarity.
Likewise, as we get older in this Christian journey, we need to beware of the same disease. The root cause of familiarity is pride —thinking we know it all: the “been there, done that and got a t-shirt for it” mentality. Once you think you know it all, you prevent God and the Holy Spirit from working in your life, just like the people of Nazareth.
I believe that’s why Jesus said, “… anyone who doesn’t receive the Kingdom of God like a child will never enter it” Mark 10:15 (NLT). What is it about children? They are humble, open, honest, courageous, and trusting, to mention a few qualities.
When we are humble, we can accept and receive what God is saying to us, regardless of who or where it comes from. Being open-minded helps us regularly see God work in new and unexpected ways.
Trusting is an easy one for a child. When an adult tells a child to jump, they won’t think twice before they jump. However, with an adult, it’s different; say jump, a million scenarios will cross their mind on how the jump might go wrong, and they may eventually refuse to jump. God wants us to be like a child who trusts Him so much that when He says jump, we won’t hesitate but will trust Him and jump.
Having a child’s attitude will prevent us from moving into the “Familiarised Zone” that blocks us from seeing who God truly is.
Are you in the “Familiarised Zone”? If you are, ask God to direct you out of it to a place where you can see His wonders again.
Stay blessed,
LaraLex
Hills and Valleys 