How Familiar Are We?

Tonight I sat with my children on the couch reading to them from the book of Mark.  We've been reading through the Gospel again going through short passages and then talking about them.  I love that my children are at an age now that we can have these great discussions.  So tonight we read the first six verses of Mark 6:

"Jesus left there and went to his hometown, accompanied by his disciples. 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?  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.

Jesus said to them, “A prophet is not without honor except in his own town, among his relatives and in his own home.” He could not do any miracles there, except lay his hands on a few sick people and heal them. He was amazed at their lack of faith."

I've read this passage many times and heard messages on this text.  I've even heard my husband teach on this text.  Tonight while I read it, it felt like the proverbial light bulb went off in my head.  The townspeople were too familiar.  

What does that mean?  It means they thought they had Jesus all figured out already.  They knew him.  He was a carpenter, a son, a brother.  He was the kid who grew up in their village.  He was the child conceived out of wedlock.  He wasn't anything special.  And, yet, now He returns.  And before He returned, news of Him came back.  Miracles.  Healing.  Hundreds of followers.  You can imagine their surprise.  Jesus?  Mary's boy?

So when He shows up and starts speaking with the authority of God, they have a hard time accepting this new image.  They instead choose to be offended with Him for putting on airs.  What happens next is surprising--Jesus is limited in His ability to do miraculous things there.  The text tells us it is their lack of faith that caused this problem.  It really hit me--we can limit God's power?  Is this really true?

I started putting these ideas together as I talked with my kids tonight.  The people of His hometown were too familiar.  They couldn't accept the real Jesus.  They had an understanding of Him and were unwilling to let it change.  Because of this, they missed out big time on what He could do in their lives.  They stopped the miraculous.   What about us?

Have we gotten too familiar?  Do we think we have Jesus figured out?  And, as a result, are we limiting God's work in our lives?  I told my kids that we need to remember that when we read our Bibles, we should come realizing that we don't have Jesus (or His Word) figured out completely.  There's always more to learn.  When we have faith in the seemingly impossible situations, our faith opens doors to a reality that we can't even imagine (Ephesians 3:20).  

I love that my God is a big God.  I love that my mind cannot wrap itself around His awesomeness.  With that truth in my heart, I want to always approach His Word with reverence knowing that the Word is powerful and living.  I want to approach every situation in my life with faith knowing that God might be doing a new thing and I don't want my seeming familiarity make me miss out on what could be an eternal, life-changing event.

Lord, help us never come to you with anything but reverent wonder.  Let our faith change our lives and then change the lives of others!