Mark 6.6 And
[Jesus] marveled because of their unbelief. And he went about among the
villages teaching. – St. Mark
I would translate this in a number of different ways: How can you be so stupid? Why is it that
because it is Me, you can’t accept it? To name just a couple. I marvel that Jesus marveled. But this was also a side of his humanity, wondering what
got them to where they were, believing what they did.
The sunny side of this story is that “…He went about
among the villages teaching…” Jesus persisted in what He came/was sent to do:
teach and preach and reach people for the Kingdom of God. His neighbors and the
people He knew in Nazareth may not have accepted Him but others did. It is
almost laughable the lengths God has gone to get us to accept Him for Who He is
and what He’s done. I think His marveling persists to this day.
It is like God, however, to do things the opposite of the
way we think and the way we understand. If left to our own devices, we’d
persist in our sins and die meaningless, purposeless lives. God does things
that go against our grain. It’s not that He does it purposely as much as it is even
if He served it up in gold foil on a silver platter, we still wouldn’t get it
because of our present fallenness. But despite God’s and our ways not meshing,
God persists in working in our lives so that we do get it – God desires we
succeed.
And to what do we succeed? God Himself. As a man pursues
and gets himself a wife, God pursues us. Our problem is we don’t recognize God’s
pursuit. Or we misunderstand His pursuit: what does He want to take from me;
where does He want me to go; what does He want me to do (that I don’t want to
do)? Does an infant child entertain those thoughts about his or her parents?
Of course not. And what does the parent want? To give him or herself to the
child.
Jesus wasn’t appreciated in His own hometown. Go figure. We know who you are, we know what you’ve
done. But Jesus demonstrated mighty works among those people and yet they
were hardened against Him because He didn’t fit their mold, and He was from
Nazareth – tells you what they really thought about themselves…
It is a marvel that I persist in approaching God my way. I’m not really sure what other
way there is besides His way. I need
to be taught His way. Psalm 25:4 Make me
to know your ways, O Lord; teach me your paths. Psalm 119:26 When I told of my
ways, you answered me; teach me your statutes!
Psalm 119:29 Put false ways far from me and graciously teach me your
law!
Jesus marveled at people’s petulant persistence. I don’t
want to be in that crowd.
Lord, help me to
know Your ways. Teach me Your paths. Teach me Your statutes. Put false ways far
from me and graciously teach me Your law. Amen
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