Gospel Reflections #712: The Lingering Old Self

Matthew 13:55 "Is not this man the son of a carpenter?"

At the end of His public life, Jesus went to His hometown and taught the people in the synagogue, and they were amazed, saying, "Where has this man learned this wisdom and these mighty works?" But on the contrary, they did not want to destroy their previous image, saying, "Is not this man the carpenter's son?

Having so much of the old, they could not accept the new reign of Christ, the new life that Jesus is making.

We judge people according to our own preconceptions.

We judge people according to our own preconceptions, which gradually become stereotypes within us.

When Jesus gives us a message of new life, but we try to receive it with our old thought processes and values, we are bound to clash with our old selves.

Then, just as we are unable to abandon our old ways, we are unable to receive the flow of Christ's new life.

We can understand, accept, and rejoice in Jesus' message only by looking up to Him, not to what we see in reality, nor to what we see in ideals.

AUTHOR'S BIO: This Gospel Reflections page is written by Masae San, who resides in Hiroshima, Japan. Masae is a dedicated student of the Bible with a deep passion for the Gospel of Jesus Christ. She shares her daily reflections on Gospel perspectives to reach out to others and spread the message of God's true love through a Christ-centered approach. We are sharing her insights here so that you, too, can experience the joy that comes from knowing and understanding the true Gospel and the love of God through Jesus Christ.