Dev4GamersDevotions for Real People, for Real Gamers!

Mark 6:1-6 (NIV)
1 Jesus left there and went to his hometown, accompanied by his disciples.

2 When the Sabbath came, he began to teach in the synagogue, and many who heard him were amazed. “Where did this man get these things?” they asked. “What’s this wisdom that has been given him, that he even does miracles!

3 Isn’t this the carpenter? Isn’t this Mary’s son and the brother of James, Joseph, Judas and Simon? Aren’t his sisters here with us?” And they took offense at him. 4 Jesus said to them, “Only in his hometown, among his relatives and in his own house is a prophet without honor.” 5 He could not do any miracles there, except lay his hands on a few sick people and heal them.

6 And he was amazed at their lack of faith. Then Jesus went around teaching from village to village.

Someone once said that home is where you heart is, followed by another person with a little less sentimentalize who chimed in, Home is where you hang your hat.

When we look at the amazing life of Jesus, we can read about all the fantastic things he did. Healing the sick, feeding the hungry, raising the dead, showing love and compassion to those who only received scorn. And yet when he came to his own home town, because the people “THOUGHT” they knew him, the would not accept what God was doing.

It’s like getting into a pick up group for an instance. I have recently picked up Lord of the Rings Online after a year and a half. Things have changed quit a bit but a lot has not. Now I started playing LotRO in closed beta. I am a founder and a lifetime subscriber to the game. I max leveled my captain in the open beta, got his crafts built all the way to the max that we could before the beta closed and it went public, just to have a slight advantage. I studied, I participated in the forums, I even started a news blog called Under the Banner, I knew LotRO, loved it. So when I came back I found in interesting as I got invited into a small fellowship doing a quest in the Trollshaws.

I got a chance to talk about how I liked some of the new things they have added and changed and how it looks and plays nice. The hunter in the group then began to act strange toward me. She would try to explain every little things, hold my hand and show me the path, at first I was like, HEY, I know what I’m doing! But then it became obvious that she was trying to help but did not understand, or realize what all I knew or did not know.

I wanted to restate again to her to make the point I was not a noob, “well I just came back from playing wow, where I have 4 level maxed characters and have seen and done some really cool stuff with some really awesome people! Can’t you see I know what is going on?!?”

Jesus was amazed at the lack of faith of the people in the town he grew up. Instead of seeing what God was doing in and through his life they could only see that little boy and his brother and sisters.

How many people in our world will not see Jesus because they see us as that little boy or girl, or they see Christians as those mean people who only want to exclude people from him?

Can we change their perspective? Maybe not alone, but if we live the life that he has called us to. If we lift him up and not try to beat them over the head, if we show them compassion then possibly we can reach them for God.

The Bible does not give us many clues, but it would be interesting to see how many people from Jesus’s hometown where at the crucifixion? How many finally saw who he was?

Application

Remember today to just be what He has called you to be. At work, school, in game, wherever, you will run into some people who see you as a noob. Don’t get all defensive and rattle off your purple pixels to them. Just smile and say a prayer that their hearts would be open one day.