He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him.

John 1:11 – Scripture of the Day (March 5, 2014)

In the immediate context, John is referring to the fact that Jesus was born a Jew, and his fellow Jews rejected him.  However, the case could also be made that John is referring to the world in general (John 1:9-10), considering that Jesus created the world (John 1:3).  Even closer to home, the New Testament teaches that Christians are spiritual Jews, God’s chosen people of today (Rom. 2:28-29; Gal. 6:16).  Do we as Christians not receive Jesus?

Consider this.  The world rejected Jesus because they did not know him (John 1:10).  Even his own family of Jews did not believe in him at first (John 7:5), most likely due to the familial familiarity which proverbially breeds contempt (cf. John 4:44).  Some who claimed to follow him in truth rejected him because they desired more the praise of men (John 7:13; 9:22; 12:42-43).  Others rejected him because they were more in love with their man-made traditions (John 9:13-16).  Some rejected him because they were misinformed (John 7:40-43).  When all was said and done, they rejected him because they loved the darkness more than light (John 3:19-20; 5:42-43).

What about us?  Do we truly know Jesus?  Can’t say that we do if we hardly open our Bibles throughout the week.  If we’ve been Christians for a while, does that familiarity with Jesus breed contempt so that we stop trying to know him like we should?  Are we more concerned about what others think of us?  Do we give more credence to creeds and the decisions of man-made councils than we do to the actual Word of God?  Do we take as gospel the error of man-made doctrines instead of obeying the biblical gospel of Christ, and thus live our lives misinformed about his will and our salvation?

Do we love the darkness more than the light?

Does Jesus come to us, his children…and is he turned away?