Unbelief | Mark 6:1-6
Have you ever heard the name Clifton ‘Pop’ Herring? He was the former Laney High School basketball coach in Wilmington North Carolina. When Pop was 26, he held try outs for his 1978 team at Laney High. A 15-year-old boy named Mike showed up with 50 other eager boys to compete for 15 spots on the varsity team. Pop watched Mike play and said, “His ball handling skills were good, his shooting ok but his defense was mediocre at best, and he was 5’10 and skinny.” Pop needed someone with size on his team, so he cut Mike from the varsity team and put him on the JV team to develop. Pop did not believe that Mike would be good enough or big enough to play for the varsity team. Unfortunately, in history, he has been known as the coach who “cut” Michael Jordan. He did not see who Michael Jordan would be in time and it would haunt him for the rest of his life. How many of us have made decisions we regret because (at the time) we just did not believe? As haunting as that decision may have been for Pop, how much more for the people of the hometown of Jesus in Nazareth. They “cut” Jesus from their lives.
The miracle section of chapter five highlighted the phenomenal power of Jesus and the importance of faith in Him. Chapter six, however, tells us that not everyone believes in Jesus. It is a stark contrast between faith and unbelief. The opposite of faith is not doubt, but unbelief. The Bible is an honest book that paints a real picture of humanity. As Jesus has taught, not everyone will believe and receive the gospel and because of that there are tragic consequences. Unbelief is opposition to Jesus that leads to missed opportunities to experience the presence and power of Jesus in your life.