Abraham Lincoln was born in a one-room log cabin with a dirt floor, a stone fireplace, and a single window. Despite his humble beginnings, he rose to become one of America’s best presidents. Other great leaders also had modest beginnings yet rose to make major contributions to the world: freedom fighters like Frederick Douglas and Harriet Tubman; scientists like George Washington Carver, and inventors like Louis Latimer. All these had humble beginnings but made significant contributions to society. When Jesus our Lord paid a visit to his hometown of Nazareth, the local people refused to accept Him because of his unremarkable background. We read in Mark CH 6, “They asked, ‘Where did he get all this wisdom and the power to perform such miracles?’ then they scoffed, ‘He’s just a carpenter, the son of Mary and the brother of James, Joseph, Judas and Simon. And his sisters live right here among us.’ They were deeply offended and refused to believe in him.” The Apostle John would later say of Jesus, “He came to his own people, and even they rejected him. But to all who believed him and accepted him, he gave the right to become children of God.”
