Offended at God?

This morning I am reading from Luke 4-5. I am reading Luke 4:14-29 NIV:

[4] Jesus returned to Galilee in the power of the Spirit, and news about him spread through the whole countryside. [15] He was teaching in their synagogues, and everyone praised him. [16] He went to Nazareth, where he had been brought up, and on the Sabbath day he went into the synagogue, as was his custom. He stood up to read, [17] and the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was handed to him. Unrolling it, he found the place where it is written:

[18] “The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to set the oppressed free, [19] to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”

[20] Then he rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant and sat down. The eyes of everyone in the synagogue were fastened on him. [21] He began by saying to them, “Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.” [22] All spoke well of him and were amazed at the gracious words that came from his lips. “Isn’t this Joseph’s son?” they asked.

[23] Jesus said to them, “Surely you will quote this proverb to me: ‘Physician, heal yourself!’ And you will tell me, ‘Do here in your hometown what we have heard that you did in Capernaum.’ ” [24] “Truly I tell you,” he continued, “no prophet is accepted in his hometown. [25] I assure you that there were many widows in Israel in Elijah’s time, when the sky was shut for three and a half years and there was a severe famine throughout the land. [26] Yet Elijah was not sent to any of them, but to a widow in Zarephath in the region of Sidon. [27] And there were many in Israel with leprosy in the time of Elisha the prophet, yet not one of them was cleansed---only Naaman the Syrian.”

[28] All the people in the synagogue were furious when they heard this. [29] They got up, drove him out of the town, and took him to the brow of the hill on which the town was built, in order to throw him off the cliff.

I had a couple of reflections as I was reading through this:

1. Jesus is experiencing wide-spread favor in the region, and appears to be welcomed home, yet by the end of His sermon there, they wanted to kill Him. I think this is important to note how quickly people will reject God if they don't like what they hear.

2. If you look closely at Jesus statements to the people of Nazareth, He was telling them He wasn't really sent to them, nor was He going to do much there. Other Gospel writers talk about how Jesus was amazed at their lack of faith. I think that this was driven by a sense of offense. They were offended that He could do all these wonderful things, yet He had never done them in His own home town, and now was telling them that was part of the plan. Being offended at God definitely affects our belief, because at the very core of that offense is a judgement about God and how He acts and thinks toward us. I believe they thought that He was rejecting them and withholding something from them, that was rightfully theirs, or at least something they were due for welcoming Him into their community for all those years.

So my reflection this morning is whether or not I am offended with God? Has he said something I don't like or agree with? Have I turned away or limited Him access to my life based on unfulfilled expectations or disappointments? Have we seen or heard God working in others lives, and had expectations we would see the same thing in our ow lives, only to be disappointed or frustrated by God's apparent lack of interest or concern for us? In our woundedness, hurt or disappointment we can become angry and turn away from God.

The truth of it all is that God does love us incredibly much. He is concerned about every situation, every circumstance and every bit of pain we experience. He is also so aware of everything that is happening in our lives and the lives of all around us that His perspective is completely different than ours. In our place of need, we can only see ourselves and our immediate source of pain. He sees everything, including our future, and our potential and acts in perfect coordination with everything.

We need to learn to trust God, to trust His love and His faithfulness. I am reminded of what it was like when my children were young and I had to tell them no about something they wanted, but that was ultimately bad for them. They felt like I didn't understand their need, so they kept expressing their need. When that wouldn't work, they might express their belief that I didn't love them. The truth was simply that I had a different perspective and a better plan, they just couldn't see it in the place of their need. I loved them, and wanted the best for them always.

God is like that, just billions of times better.

So, let us choose to believe that God loves us and has our best in mind for us always, regardless of how it might look. Let us not reject God because of something He said that we don't like. His love for us is beyond compare and sometimes beyond comprehension.