Jesus experienced a lot of rejection during His life here on earth.  That comes as no surprise seeing that Isaiah prophesized that He would.

Isaiah 53:3 (ESV)
³  He was despised and rejected by men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief; and as one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed him not.

John said, “He came to His own, and His own people did not receive Him” (John 1:11).  This was true of the Jews in general, but never more so than His hometown of Nazareth.  The Bible tells us that when Jesus went there, the people were offended.  They asked, “Is this not the carpenter, the son of Mary and brother of James and Joses and Judas and Simon?  And are not his sisters here with us?”  How did Jesus respond to this rejection?  He took it all in stride.

Mark 6:4 (ESV)
⁴  And Jesus said to them, “A prophet is not without honor, except in his hometown and among his relatives and in his own household.”

The ironic thing is that because they rejected Jesus, the Bible tells us that He did not do mighty works there.  Yes, He healed a few of the sick among them, but they hindered Him from doing the great work that He had done in other places (Mark 6:5-6).

The Jews at Nazareth were not the last ones to hinder the work of Jesus.  He continues to be hindered by His own people, only now they are members of His church.  We all should ask ourselves, “Am I a help or a hindrance to the cause of Christ?  How can we hinder Jesus from accomplishing His work today?  The words of Paul in 2 Timothy help us with this.

2 Timothy 2:20-21 (ESV)
²⁰  Now in a great house there are not only vessels of gold and silver but also of wood and clay, some for honorable use, some for dishonorable. ²¹  Therefore, if anyone cleanses himself from what is dishonorable, he will be a vessel for honorable use, set apart as holy, useful to the master of the house, ready for every good work.

To be of use to the Lord we must avoid being dishonorable vessels.  Paul’s focus is mostly on being honorable vessels, but if we know what it takes to be honorable, we will also know what will result in us being dishonorable.  Let’s take a quick look at two things.

First, unholy living will render us useless to our Master and, therefore, cause us to be a hindrance.  While God cleanses us by the gospel of Christ, it is up to us to apply the Word and live holy.  “Since we have these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from every defilement of the body and spirit, bringing holiness to completion in the fear of God” (2 Corinthians 7:1).  

Second, we must desire to be used by Jesus in the completion of His work.  Perhaps more than anything else, brethren today hinder the Lord by simply not having a willing mind.  Paul said that to be useful to our Master we must be “ready for every good work”.   Always remember that most of what it takes to be useful in the kingdom of God is a proper mindset.  Attitude determines altitude when it comes to the heights we can reach in our service to the Lord.  On the other hand, if we do not have a mind to work, we can only hinder the work of the Lord.     

As you wind down for the night, think about these things.