Mark6:3 Then they scoffed, “He’s just a carpenter, the son of Mary and the brother of James, Joseph, Judas, and Simon. And his sisters live right here among us.” They were deeply offended and refused to believe in him.
THE TRAP OF FAMILIARITY
In my few years of ministering to people, I noticed that those closest to me hardly benefit from the grace of God upon my life. Outsiders have shared amazing testimonies that may sound unbelievable to those closest to me yet I try to give my best to them when preaching and praying but with only few result. The same has happened to most Pastors. Infact, one of the reasons why some Pastors bring invited guests to grace their programmes is to ensure the people get blessed more and to achieve certain results they have been struggling to get from their people.
It is not because the invited guest is more anointed or can preach better, but people tend to down play the gift of God on a man they see every time. Surprisingly, the invited guest maybe experiencing the same with his members but going to another church, he look like a super hero. Same also applies to the Pastor that is invited to go preach elsewhere. Though it sounds like it is normal but I want to tell you that it is totally abnormal. Familiarity with the vessel God has placed above you would make you miss God over and over again.
Pastor E. A. Adeboye told the story of a man that insisted on seeing him despite being busy. He came on a day when he doesn't attend to any body because it was a day with God alone. This man waited till he finished. Pastor Adeboye asked the man what he wanted. He said, "just a handshake". Wow! Not even prayers? The man got a good handshake and left but his faith connected strongly with just a handshake. Pastor Adeboye said that most of his Pastors shake his hands on daily basis but do not benefit from it because they are used to it. Someone else treasured that handshake and that was the encounter he needed for a turn around. The anointing you don't respect you will not attract. Don't be like the Jews who missed a lot because of their familiarity with Jesus' ancestry. Contemptuously, they called him, 'son of a carpenter' instead of admitting his messianic status.
father, I shall not fall into the trap of familiarity In Jesus name. Amen