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Luke 6:12-16
One of those days Jesus went out to a mountainside to pray, and spent the night praying to God. When morning came, he called his disciples to him and chose twelve of them, whom he also designated apostles: Simon (whom he named Peter), his brother Andrew, James, John, Philip, Bartholomew, Matthew, Thomas, James son of Alphaeus, Simon who was called the Zealot, Judas son of James, and Judas Iscariot, who became a traitor.
God does extraordinary things with very ordinary people. He didn’t choose kings and queens to build His kingdom. He can get the job done with people who don’t belong to Mensa. The only person He honored for sacrificial giving was a widow who gave a penny. Jesus prayerfully chose twelve ordinary men that changed the world.
From a human standpoint, it is astounding that Jesus would choose the men in today’s verse for His disciples. The men in this list were prone to mistakes and misjudgments. Sometimes they followed the crowd instead of Jesus. They had lapses of faith and experienced bitter failure. Even Jesus said that at times they were slow learners and “slow of heart to believe” (Luke 24:25). They spanned the political spectrum, from a zealot — determined to overthrow Roman rule — to a tax collector — a man considered to be a traitor to Israel. Yet Jesus used these men to spread His message.
God does extraordinary things with very ordinary people. He calls you to be His child. He also calls you to change your world. Satan will try to convince you that you are an ineffective instrument. That is a lie. God will give you everything you need to do what He has called you to do. We are ordinary people, but He is the Almighty God!
Father, thank You for calling me to Yourself. Thank You for saving me by the work of Jesus. Thank You for using an ordinary person like me. Help me to do extraordinary things for You. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
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