“Then Jesus’ mother and brothers arrived. Standing outside, they sent someone in to call him.” (Mark 3:31 NIV)
What happened while Jesus was still here on earth? Why didn’t his half-brothers and -sisters believe in him?
The fact is that sometimes familiarity makes it difficult. In fact,
there’s an instance in the Bible //when that familiarity with the things
of God turned into actual contempt, and it happened with the sons of
Eli, the Old Testament priest, so that the priesthood was taken away
from Eli’s descendants forever. Of course, familiarity doesn’t always
breed contempt, but there is a danger of having the things of
God becoming commonplace so that the wonder of communing with Almighty
God is lost in the shuffle.
That’s why people //who come to church all
the time their whole lives and never have a true experience with Jesus,
often find it really hard to find their way. They end up being so
familiar with the church, and hearing the preaching and singing, that
they don’t realize [what they’re missing].
And [what they’re missing] is a
relationship with Jesus, Son of the living God! [What they’re missing ]
is [what is conveyed in the words of the old hymn]: “And he walks with me,
and he talks with me, and he tells me that I am his own. And the joy
() we share as we tarry there, none other has ever known!”
That’s what Jesus wants for each and every one of us today. If you
have never had that relationship with Jesus, why don’t you ask him /into
your heart today? And if you are a believer, but your
Christian walk has become routine and dull because of the cares of life,
you can ask Jesus to quicken you by his precious Holy Spirit and to
make his presence and his Word real in your life once again.
Read Mark 3:31-35.