A prophet is not without honor except in his own country, among his own relatives, and in his own house. [Mark 6:4]

Knowledge to Build On:  The key word in the scripture is honor.  Jesus’ hometown folks didn’t treat Him as valuable.  Instead, they saw one of their own; just an ordinary local man from Nazareth.  Therefore, there was nothing notable that occurred in Nazareth.  Think of it.  Jesus - -the Son of God, is sent to heal the sick and all who were oppressed of the devil; but He cannot fulfill this commission, not because it wasn’t God’s will, but because they restricted Him by withholding honor.

What does  “honor” mean?  The Greek word for honor is time. (tee-mee)  When you speak of the word time to a Greek man, he thinks of something valuable, precious, weighty, such as gold.

Life in the Now:  Has there ever been anyone in your life that you didn’t think deserved to be honored?  Perhaps it was your parents, husband or wife, boss, or a church leader.

1 Peter 2:17 makes a point of saying that we are to “honor all people.”  Surely, Peter can’t mean rude and obnoxious people, not to mention those who are outright wrong in their beliefs and attitudes.  Why, I had a long list of those kind of people on my “do not honor list.”

But, something begin to gnaw on my conscious that told me I needed to make a change in my attitude. After much prayer and studying on the word “Honor,” I came to the conclusion that:

1. “I didn’t reach perfectionism before God accepted me unconditionally.”
2. “You can honor the person without honoring the behavior.” Behavior may, indeed, be wrong, but honor and value should be released to each person who Jesus valued so much that He shed His blood for on The Cross.

Think about it:  Do you suppose we must first get a glimpse of Jesus’ finished work on The Cross for all men before we can begin to walk in true honor to those we think are undeserving?

Prayer:  Father God, I ask you in the name of your son Jesus, to forgive me of those times I have withheld honor from anyone.  Help me to honor them as a precious stone of gold that You created and for whom You made the ultimate sacrifice.