Faith In Those Who Are Close To Us

Luke 4:24-30

Jesus said to the people in the synagogue at Nazareth:

"Amen, I say to you, no prophet is accepted in his own native place. Indeed, I tell you, there were many widows in Israel in the days of Elijah when the sky was closed for three and a half years and a severe famine spread over the entire land. It was to none of these that Elijah was sent, but only to a widow in Zarephath in the land of Sidon.

Again, there were many lepers in Israel during the time of Elisha the prophet; yet not one of them was cleansed, but only Naaman the Syrian."

When the people in the synagogue heard this, they were all filled with fury. They rose up, drove him out of the town, and led him to the brow of the hillon which their town had been built, to hurl him down headlong. But he passed through the midst of them and went away.

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Why is it that we often give less respect and clout to those that we know and those who we live with?

Why do we think strangers have better insight than our own friends, siblings, and relatives.

How often have I heard, my children listen better to others than to their own parents.

How often have I heard, my own brothers and sisters would not listen to me, but when someone else states the very same advice they listen.

Is it a matter of faith and believing in the person?

If you don't have faith (Belief) in a person, does that somehow affect who they are? No, it doesn't change who they are, it just changes who you think they are.

If you don't have faith in a person, it doesn't change their abilities, it just changes what you think they are capable of. And if you don't think a person has the ability to help make change in your life, they probably won't be able to make any change in your life.

Think about your life and the relationships that you have with those around you.

Do you have faith in them? Do they have faith in you? Are you allowing each other to affect each other, helping each other grow, helping each other to experience the miracles that surround us each day?

Is faith only about what we cannot see, and for those that we really don't even know?

Or does it also apply for those that we know the best!