I was stumped! The
Christmas "to-do" list had me occupied and it had been days since I'd
written. I had decided it was time to
get back to the habit. Yet the verses in
Mark 6:1-6 were tasking my brain.
Jesus went to His
hometown and taught in the synagogue.
The people were amazed at His wisdom.
Then they realized He was the carpenter and they knew His siblings. So they took offense at His teaching.
Jesus' reply was "only in
His hometown, among His relatives and in His own home is a prophet without
honor." He only performed a few
healings of sick people. Jesus was
amazed at their lack of faith.
It's no coincidence that these verses have stumped my thoughts on the
last day of the year as I ponder the next year.
I am still enough of a legalistic that I refuse to skip any verses as I
blog my way through the Gospel of Mark.
So, I have decided to let these verses frame my resolutions for 2016.
My vision statement for the
coming year:
·
Wonder,
not worldly. I don't want worldly doubts to cause me to miss God's
work. When the circumstances or the
delivery method of God's grace and gifts appear common or familiar I resolve to
acknowledge them as blessings. If I've
learned nothing else from our annual binge of Hallmark Channel
"sappy" Christmas shows, I do
recognize the recurring theme that I have to pay attention to see the
wonder. It's there, I'm just not paying
attention.
·
Fresh,
not complacent. I want Jesus to be amazed at my faith, not the lack of it. The statement in verse six is a sad
verse. Jesus shaking His head in
disappointment at their blatant refusal to believe just because of their
familiarity with Him. I must resolve to
keep my familiarity with Jesus, fresh and not complacent.
·
Resolve
and See. I will see God's miracles as His divine
intervention in my ordinary life, not as just healing a few sick people. I was troubled that Jesus could not perform
miracles. Couldn't He or wouldn't
He? It seems to me that Jesus, the Son
of God, God Incarnate, could do
anything. So perhaps He wouldn't to
accentuate their lack of faith. I think
those few sick people who came to Jesus felt He had performed a miracle in
their life. God is at work all the time,
all around me. I'm the one not
acknowledging His work. Again, I want to pay attention so I don't miss seeing a
miracle because of my lack of faith.
I'm think I'm ready to close out
on 2015 and look forward to 2016. Happy
New Year!
