While living here in His earthly ministry, Jesus Christ spent more time in the city of Capernaum than any other place. And the people of Capernaum flocked to hear Him. They wondered at his teachings and delighted in seeing His miracles. Capernaum was a small fishing village on the northern shore of the Sea of Galilee. It was the hometown of the apostles Peter, Andrew, James and John. And it was in this city where Jesus healed Peter’s Mother-in-Law, healed a Roman Centurion’s servent, and healed the man who was let down through the roof by his friends. Jesus even taught in the synagogue of Capernaum on more than one occassion, yet many of the citizens of Capernaum refused to believe in Him as the Messiah and Savior whom He was and is.
Jesus said in Matthew 11:23, “And you, Capernaum, who are exalted to heaven, will be brought down to Hades; for if the mighty works which were done in you had been done in Sodom, it would have remained until this day.” He was saying that if all of the works and teachings which had been done in the city of Capernaum had been done in the Old Testament city of Sodom, Sodom would have repented of their sins and followed Jesus and thus Sodom would not have been destroyed. But Capernaum refused to listen and believe in Him.
We are often like that. We get so used to hearing the Word of God spoken and taught, we hear preaching at church, on television, and on the radio, we become so accustomed to hearing about how great the true Christian life is, that we just like the people of Capernaum, let it go in one ear and out the other. Oh, we agree that it is marvelous, we say “Amen!” at the appropriate times, yet we NEVER put into action the words from God. It just becomes routine and “old news”. We say, “Yup, that’s a good story…I’ve heard it before.”
The promises of a MUCH happier life, the joys and peace talked about in God’s Word, the guidance and direction God promises can never be fully known until we learn it’s NOT about us! The Christian life is ALL ABOUT GOD and pleasing HIM!
The missionary Jim Elliot said, “He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose!” We can’t keep the things of this world, our possessions, and even our friendships may be lost sometimes. But a personal relationship with JESUS CHRIST that is lived according to HIS WORD will change our lives for all of eternity.
James 4:17 warns us, “So whoever knows the right thing to do and fails to do it, for him it is sin.” We know from God’s Word, from studying, from reading books about the Christian life, and from seeing the examples of other Christian’s lives like George Mueller, John Wesley, and others, what is RIGHT and what we ARE SUPPOSED to do and how we are COMMANDED to live. Yet, many times, we just say, “Yes, that’s GREAT!” and then go back to our old sinful life and forget it.
Don’t get so used to hearing and reading about God’s promises that we forget or neglect to do what is necessary to receive them.