Luke 6:12-13 (ESV)
[12] In these days he went out to
the mountain to pray, and all night he continued in prayer to God. [13] And
when day came, he called his disciples and chose from them twelve, whom he
named apostles:
Of his many disciples Jesus chose
twelve to be apostles. But did you ever think about who he chose? Four uneducated
fishermen, a tax collector, a Zealot, and a traitor were among the twelve. Surely,
he knew this. He had spent the entire night praying with the Father before
making this decision. Are these really the kind of people you would choose to “turn
the world upside down” (Acts 17:6)? These are not the kind of people the
leadership books tell us to look for.
But maybe that is the point. God ways
are not man’s ways. God has a way of using unusual people in non-ordinary ways to
accomplish his purposes because it’s not about us. Right here at the beginning
of his ministry, we’re thinking Jesus made a mistake. He surely can’t expect much
from these ragtag, politically divided, uneducated, societal rejects. As the
gospel proceeds our fears are realized. They completely misunderstood his purpose
and plans. Peter denied him. Judas stole money from the group (Jn 12:6) and
eventually betrayed Jesus. Even after his resurrection they found it hard to
believe. Yet this was exactly the right group of men to lay the foundation for
the church. Jesus knew what he was doing even when, from all outward
appearances, it looked like a huge mistake.
Maybe it is time we stopped looking
at people by their outward appearance and listen better to the Spirit’s
leading. Maybe it is time to stop worrying about whether we are good enough,
qualified enough, gifted enough, and just focus on God’s call. Trust him; step
forward; serve. God equips those he calls. He doesn’t call the equipped.
Comments
Post a Comment