Too Familiar

“Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the mighty works done in you had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago, sitting in sackcloth and ashes. But it will be more bearable in the judgment for Tyre and Sidon than for you. And you, Capernaum, will you be exalted to heaven? You shall be brought down to Hades. “The one who hears you hears me, and the one who rejects you rejects me, and the one who rejects me rejects him who sent me.”
Luke 10:13–16
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Too Familiar
The old expression “familiarity breeds contempt” comes from the idea that extensive knowledge of or close association with someone or something can lead to a loss of respect for them. The closer we are to some people, the easier it becomes for us to mock or disparage them. It is all too easy to discount their wise counsel in lieu of something new and seemingly exciting. As Jesus sends out the Seventy-two, He warns that whoever rejects Him will be in danger of eternal condemnation. Such warnings continue in force today and apply especially to those who have heard the Gospel frequently. However, the fact that our familiarity with God sometimes breeds contempt does not mean that He acts in kind. He is faithful and just and forgives all who repent. And it is only through Him that we are given grateful hearts. May our hearts be ever ready to serve Him and His people. May we ever long for and desire to hear His Word and learn it.