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We naturally assume that these religious activities must be what God requires from us. We assume that if we're going to church, reading our Bibles, praying, and giving, we're doing what God wants. But what if we're wrong?

What does God require from us as Christians? Most of us would say going to church, reading the Bible, praying, and giving. We think being a good Christian is primarily about religious activities.

God is in Galilee. Right now. God is working in the overlooked neighborhoods, through the dismissed people, in the unexpected places. God is bringing light to those living in darkness. God is honoring what the world has humbled. God is doing powerful work at the margins while we're waiting for something impressive to happen at the center.

While we're waiting in Jerusalem, insisting that God should work the way we think God should work, people are encountering Jesus in Galilee. Lives are being transformed. Communities are being healed. Justice is being done. The kingdom is advancing. And we're missing all of it because we refused to look beyond our expectations.

While we're waiting for God to show up in the places that make sense – in the big churches with impressive buildings and large budgets, in the ministries with celebrity pastors and national platforms, in the movements that look successful and influential – God is working in the places we're not even paying attention to.

When people heard that Jesus was from Galilee, they dismissed him. They assumed nothing good could come from a place like that. They assumed someone from Galilee couldn't possibly be the Messiah. They assumed that if God were going to do something important, it wouldn't happen there.

When starting something important, you pick a place that already matters, usually somewhere big and prestigious. Everyone expected Jesus to begin his ministry in Jerusalem, the religious center of Israel, where God's presence dwelt. But Jesus went to Galilee instead—a place looked down on and dismissed. While we wait for God in Jerusalem, God's working in Galilee. Are we paying attention?

When you're starting something important, you don't pick just anywhere. You pick a place that already matters. If you're launching a tech startup, you go to Silicon Valley. If you're opening a new restaurant, you choose the busiest part of town. Because important things are supposed to start in important places.

We're all the rejects that Jesus called anyway. Every single one of us. The people who think they're qualified and the people who know they're not. The people who've been following Jesus for decades and the people who just started exploring faith. The people who have their theology figured out and the people who are still full of questions. All of us are the rejects that Jesus called anyway.

Not everyone who reads about Jesus tearing down barriers to following him feels liberated. Some people feel exposed. Because some of us aren't trying to decide if other people are qualified. We're trying to figure out if we're qualified. We're not rebuilding barriers to keep others out. We're standing outside the barriers wondering if we'll ever be good enough to get in.