Without Honor

One of the things that we cannot control is how people respond or feel about the things we say. We can be people of the highest integrity, with no hint of deception or indiscretion, but we cannot make someone believe us. The very essence of belief is based in the mindset of the one hearing. It can frustrate us if someone doesn't believe what we are saying is true or valid, but that is the harsh reality of sharing the Gospel or the truth of God's Word with others.----------It can be helpful to remember that, first and foremost, it is always more important to focus on what God KNOWS about us rather than to focus on what people THINK about us. But it is also vital to remember that the Son of God--the very source of truth--was not believed by the people from His hometown. In fact, Mark points out in chapter 6 that they took offense at Him.----------Perhaps it was a feeling that He was casting a "holier-than-thou" attitude and they felt like they needed to take Him down a peg. Perhaps it was those people that remembered Him as a kid and couldn't get beyond His claims to be the Messiah now. Whatever the case was, the loss was theirs. They chose to reject Him and had to live with the consequences of that choice.