RE Verse reading–Mark 6:1-6 (day six)
“Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary? . .and they took offense at Him.” (vs 3) Nothing is free. Not even grace. Not if you mean “without obligation”. The grace of God makes us debtors. See Romans 1. We have something to repay. “To whom much is given, much is required.” (Luke 12:48) Perhaps this is where the people of Nazareth stumbled. Rather than feeling the moral urgency of a faith response to Christ ( What the miracles and teaching of His public ministry were calling for), they used their history/personal knowledge of Jesus as permission to “hang back” unchanged. Is it possible that we do the same? Do we ever allow past experiences with Christ to substitute for progress with Him? Do we ever say, “I have known Him for years”, without appreciating that we are NOT following Him at the present moment? God’s goodness obligates us to trust! Even when the new chapter is unexpected.
