Wouldn’t it have been exciting?
Then Jesus went up a hill and called to himself the men he wanted. They came to him, and he chose twelve, whom he named apostles. ‘I have chosen you to be with me’, he told them. ‘l will also send you out to preach, and you will have authority to drive out demons.’ (verses 13-15)
Read Mark 3:7-19
Wouldn’t it have been exciting to have been chosen by Jesus! To be called to be a disciple. Given the chance to get to know him well, to hear him preach and teach, to see him do the miracles that showed his great love for people. To spend precious moments alone with him, hearing him speak picturesquely of the kingdom of God and of his special ministry to human beings, to be taught to pray by him. To be with him when he calmed a storm or walked on water or raised his friend Lazarus from death.
It would have been so exciting to be called by Jesus to be a disciple. The good news is that you have been called by Jesus to be a disciple. You too have been called into a personal relationship with him in baptism. Through Scripture he speaks as plainly to you today as he did to his disciples. He has given you the same commission to make more disciples. He has given you too the gift of the Holy Spirit. He has made you part of his body, the church, to do his work for him.
Yes, it is exciting to be chosen by Jesus to be a disciple!
Thank you, Jesus, for calling me to be your disciple. May I always be a faithful servant. Amen.
by Bob Turnbull, in ‘New Strength for each Day’ (LCA, Openbook, 1998)
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