«But he passed right through the crowd and went on his way» (Luke 4:30).
I’ve been a member of several Pathfinder Clubs throughout my life. In one of them, we painfully noticed how many of the younger leaders left the church. But two years later, one of them came back
It was very hard for the leaders at that time to trust his word and let his apostasy be forgotten, even though he was truly sorry and wanted to work. He had experienced a true even revival. In time, he proved he and was sincere on his commitment and was restored to his old job as counselor. I remember that in spite of that, many people kept on making fun of him, criticizing him for past mistakes and they nicknamed him. But he kept quiet and worked faithfully. In the end, he started working very diligently as a chaplain and, little by little, the rest began noticing his sincerity.
Jesus’s case was different. He hadn’t committed any sins. However, when He reencountered those who had witnessed His birth and younger years, He noticed they were ready for anything except to accept Him as the fulfillment of prophecy.
At the beginning of His ministry, He visited His childhood synagogue to preach. But when those in attendance, who bragged about following the law, heard Jesus’s judgment pronounced toward them, they didn’t mind wishing and seeking His death.
The sad part about this first encounter is that Jesus had to flee to save His life.
At the end of His ministry, Jesus returned to Nazareth. This time, everything He had done in the surrounding area had become well known. There were even whole villages, very nearby, where not a single illness was found because Jesus had been there! But because of their unbelief, Jesus couldn’t do much among them.
«Our standing before God depends, not upon the amount of light we have received, but upon the use we make of what we have. Thus even the heathen who choose the right as far as they can distinguish it are in a more favorable condition than are those who have had great light, and profess to serve God, but who disregard the light, and by their daily life contradict their profession» (The Desire of Ages, ch. 24, p. 239).
Today, may we use the light we’ve received wisely and may we be ready to give the Holy Spirit a chance to work, without pride or prejudice.