Nazareth. Jesus’ hometown southwest of the Sea of Galilee. A little town where nothing good can come from. Nazareth: where skepticism is strong, doubt is good-looking, and the level of condescension is above average. Would you ever want to be in a place like that?

‌What if I said to you that you and I go there more often then you think?

If we are to grow, we have to acknowledge the presence of our skepticism, our doubt and, in some cases, our condescension towards the things of God. I’m not talking about pretending like we don’t have questions or like we have everything figured out. We all have questions. None of us have arrived at the end of our journey of faith.

I’m talking about heart position that accepts at its foundation that Jesus couldn’t possibly be who he said he is, God couldn’t possibly do the things the scriptures say He does, and faith has no other goal than my own personal comfort and inspiration.

None of us have arrived at the end of our journey of faith. But if Nazareth is a place where skepticism is strong, doubt is good-looking, and the level of condescension is above average, We have to leave Nazareth behind if we’re going to follow Jesus into a growing life of faith.