This was Jesus whose teaching amazed and healing impacted people in other towns, but in his home town, Nazareth, he was merely seen as a "carpenter" and they were offended at him. Sometimes, we allow over-familiarity to lessen our relationships with persons who God brings our way to enhance our life experiences.
We often become so accustomed to them that we begin to take them for granted. We gradually forget that when people come into our lives, they come with their personality, skills, values, unique gifts, competencies, and all the graces they've been endowed with. Our familiarity with them doesn't diminish their value. Rather, it gives us access to benefit from their offering and vice versa.
In verse 5 of the above text, we read that Jesus could do little or nothing in impacting his home people because they undermined him. He was their "hometown boy" so "what's the big deal". Familiarity sure does breed contempt.
Similarly, we lose out from enriching our relationships with others, when we take them for granted. My pediatrician friend doesn't suddenly become a nobody when it comes to child health matters, just because we are now so close. My wife doesn't stop seeing me as a communication specialist, just because we've been married for a while. My pastor-friend doesn't abruptly lose my respect for his call and the grace upon his life, just because we go on first-name basis.
When our relationship is becoming callused by over-familiarity with friends and loved ones, let's take a break from that edgy lane of impulsive and insensitive behavior, reflect on the who, why, and how of the persons in our lives. If it does matter that they keep being there, we need to make the required adjustment, identify the areas we've been taking them for granted and review our attitude on the basis of a purpose-driven relationship.
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