Familiarity

"When Jesus had finished telling these stories, he left that part of the country. He returned to Nazareth, his hometown. When he taught there in the synagogue, everyone was astonished and said, "Where does he get his wisdom and his miracles? He's just a carpenter's son, and we know Mary, his mother, and his brothers -- James, Joseph, Simon, and Judas. All his sisters live right here among us. What makes him so great?" And they were deeply offended and refused to believe in him. Then Jesus told them, "A prophet is honored everywhere except in his own hometown and among his own family. "And he did not do many miracles there because of their lack of faith. -- Matthew 13:53-58

It has been said that "familiarity breeds contempt." I would like to discuss this phrase as it applies to the Matthew 13 passage above. We are told in Acts 10:38 that "God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and power, and he [Jesus] went around doing good and healing all who were under the power of the devil, because God was with him." Jesus did great works everywhere he went but we see that when he returned to his hometown the people were deeply offended and refused to believe him. Why is that? And what can we learn from this?

It is often human nature to not respect someone (or the anointing on their life) when we know them well enough to know their faults, their family, or their history. Most people who answer the call of God on their life do not answer it at infancy. Therefore, and in some cases, that call comes only after many years of working it out, making mistakes, and growing up. Those years are riddled with mistakes and bad choices that are well known to those closest to them.

Fortunately for us, God equips the called and he is the one most familiar with our frame. He doesn't wait until we've grown up in the faith to start using us. God will always supply the anointing to accomplish the call on our life. If, for example, we have a call to perform miracles, they will most often (but not always) be best received by those not familiar with us. Our family members and even our closest friends may not recognize the very anointing that God has put right in front of them because it looks like "us." It's too familiar and it weakens their faith. Even Jesus did not perform many miracles in his own hometown because the people did not have faith. They knew Jesus' family and they knew him to be a carpenter's son.

I've heard stories of incredibly gifted evangelists who've seen thousands saved and yet their own family members won't listen to a word they preach. Or what about the miracle worker who God has used to heal and deliver hundreds from illness and yet their family members are stricken with all sorts of diseases? Let's not discount the familiar because that "familiar" person may just be the one God put in your life to carry the anointing you need for your situation.