Mark records how Jesus picked his disciples and started his ministry by going around to places. He became 'popular' and was sought after to heal people and to perform miracles.
Jesus then went to his hometown. There he found the people were uptight. They knew Jesus too well. They knew him when he was growing up, they watched him work on the carpentry shop with his father, they knew his mother, they knew too much. And would not believe that here he had become a great miracle worker.
And the Bible says Jesus was amazed at their lack of faith! There are only two instances to my memory where it is recorded in the Bible that Jesus was amazed.
1. He was amazed at the faith of the 'pagan' centurion who asked him to heal his daughter saying that he doesn't even have to set foot in his house, Jesus only has to say the word and she would be healed. And
2. this is the other instance where Jesus was amazed: seeing people in the other spectrum of the faith scale. Here were the people from his own hometown, having absolutely no faith. They were filled with all knowledge and made their judgment according to that. And he was amazed at their lack of faith.
Maybe we think that we can impress our God by pretty songs we write and pretty words we use when we pray. Or by 'obeying' and going to the Third world to 'lend a helping hand to the poor and the destitute' there. Or by doing this and that. Or by reading a few chapters of the Bible before going to sleep so that your last waking thoughts are scriptural. Or by making sure you read the devotional before you log into Facebook in the morning.
I don't know.. Maybe God is.
But I know that he is impressed by faith. It gives him room to do what he intends to do. It gives him a lot of working space. It is like saying, whatever God, I know you can do it.
I wrote somewhere in my writing book (I remember it was on the way to Queenstown few weeks ago in the bus):
There is a difference between logic and lack of faith. Too many times we blame logic when all we are under is lack of faith.
How can we say?
Because sometimes having faith is the most logical thing to do.
I realise that nothing impresses or disgusts Jesus more than faith or the lack of it. It says that he was unable to do anything in his own hometown, as much as he loved them. It was the lack of faith.
Good things can happen to you. God can work in your life. But you can disable him by not believing He can and will do it.
Jesus then went to his hometown. There he found the people were uptight. They knew Jesus too well. They knew him when he was growing up, they watched him work on the carpentry shop with his father, they knew his mother, they knew too much. And would not believe that here he had become a great miracle worker.
And the Bible says Jesus was amazed at their lack of faith! There are only two instances to my memory where it is recorded in the Bible that Jesus was amazed.
1. He was amazed at the faith of the 'pagan' centurion who asked him to heal his daughter saying that he doesn't even have to set foot in his house, Jesus only has to say the word and she would be healed. And
2. this is the other instance where Jesus was amazed: seeing people in the other spectrum of the faith scale. Here were the people from his own hometown, having absolutely no faith. They were filled with all knowledge and made their judgment according to that. And he was amazed at their lack of faith.
Maybe we think that we can impress our God by pretty songs we write and pretty words we use when we pray. Or by 'obeying' and going to the Third world to 'lend a helping hand to the poor and the destitute' there. Or by doing this and that. Or by reading a few chapters of the Bible before going to sleep so that your last waking thoughts are scriptural. Or by making sure you read the devotional before you log into Facebook in the morning.
I don't know.. Maybe God is.
But I know that he is impressed by faith. It gives him room to do what he intends to do. It gives him a lot of working space. It is like saying, whatever God, I know you can do it.
I wrote somewhere in my writing book (I remember it was on the way to Queenstown few weeks ago in the bus):
There is a difference between logic and lack of faith. Too many times we blame logic when all we are under is lack of faith.
How can we say?
Because sometimes having faith is the most logical thing to do.
I realise that nothing impresses or disgusts Jesus more than faith or the lack of it. It says that he was unable to do anything in his own hometown, as much as he loved them. It was the lack of faith.
Good things can happen to you. God can work in your life. But you can disable him by not believing He can and will do it.