Tuesday; August 11

One of the first things many of us learned to quote as children in Sunday School were the names of the apostles.  While many of us memorized their names by singing a song, Luke recalls them in this way, “And when day came, He called His disciples to Him and chose twelve of them, whom He also named as apostles: Simon, whom He also named Peter, and Andrew his brother; and James and John; and Philip and Bartholomew; and Matthew and Thomas; James the son of Alphaeus, and Simon who was called the Zealot; Judas the son of James, and Judas Iscariot, who became a traitor.” (Luke 6:13-16).  I was familiar with the names of these men at a young age, but it has taken me a while to appreciate their make-up.  It is easy to think of these guys as Jesus’ best buds, but a deeper dive into it reveals something interesting:  it was a diverse group of people.  Some were government workers and others were fishermen.  Some were closely associated with the status-quo and others had a zeal for political change.  Some would die for Jesus and at least one of them sold Him out in His darkest hour.  In other words, they were human!

The next time we think of the apostles, let’s allow it to remind us that, like the early disciples, the church is made up of diverse people.  It doesn’t appear Jesus picked all the people from the same mold, so it shouldn’t surprise us that modern believers come from various backgrounds as well.  Let’s learn to appreciate one another – even if we don’t all look, act or think the same.  That group changed the world, what can we do with all the variety we have today?

Think About It!

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