When Familiarity Breeds Contempt

Reading:  Mark 6:1-6
1 Jesus left there and went to his hometown, accompanied by his disciples.
2 When the Sabbath came, he began to teach in the synagogue, and many who heard him were amazed.  “Where did this man get these things?” they asked. “What’s this wisdom that has been given him? What are these remarkable miracles he is performing?
3 Isn’t this the carpenter? Isn’t this Mary’s son and the brother of James, Joseph, Judas and Simon? Aren’t his sisters here with us?” And they took offense at him.
4 Jesus said to them, “A prophet is not without honor except in his own town, among his relatives and in his own home.”
5 He could not do any miracles there, except lay his hands on a few sick people and heal them.
6 He was amazed at their lack of faith.  Then Jesus went around teaching from village to village.

Devotional: There is a quiet danger in familiarity. The people of Nazareth had watched Jesus grow up among them. They knew His family, His trade, His face. And yet that very closeness became the wall that kept them from receiving what He offered. They treated the Son of God as ordinary. The result was staggering -- not that He would not move among them, but that He could not. Dishonor and unbelief work together to close the hand of God in our lives. Today, ask yourself honestly: Have you grown so familiar with Jesus that you have lost your wonder? Has church become routine? Has prayer become mechanical? Has worship become performance? Guard your heart against the creeping numbness of familiarity. He is not ordinary. He is not common. He is the King of kings, and He is still worthy of your highest honor.

Personal Reflection: In what areas of your spiritual life have you allowed familiarity to replace genuine reverence?

Practical Application: Before your next time of prayer or worship, pause for two full minutes in silence. Remind yourself of who it is you are approaching. Let wonder return before words begin.