Notes to the Lord:An Invitation to the Journey

Mark 3

He climbed a mountain and invited those he wanted with him. They climbed together. He settled on twelve, and designated them apostles. The plan was that they would be with him, and he would send them out to proclaim the Word and give them authority to banish demons. These are the Twelve:(Jesus later named him Peter, meaning “Rock”), James, son of Zebedee, John, brother of James (Jesus nicknamed the Zebedee brothers Boanerges, meaning “Sons of Thunder”), Andrew, Philip, Bartholomew, Matthew, Thomas, James, son of Alphaeus, Thaddaeus, Simon the Canaanite, Judas Iscariot (who betrayed him).

Lord Jesus--These were ordinary people that you gave authority to act on your behalf.  Nothing special about these ex-fishermen, tax-collectors, and political rebel-rousers.  I wonder about how this first journey together up that mountain went.  How did they handle the shared adventure together? It must have been interesting. Did they complain about the heat, the sweat and the dust?  The irony of  complaining to the One who was there when it was all spoken into existence makes me chuckle. They were really beginners learning from the ground up.  I wonder if there were colorful words used by these ruff and tumble men...

There was plan and intention in your choice and in your delegation of authority. Each of these ordinary men were called by you to be a part of your Kingdom work. The impact of their work would be a multiplication of your efforts.  People lives would be changed, oppression would be lifted and there would be restoration in thousands of lives. Yet from their view point it was a bit like driving down a superhighway with only the view out the front window with scenes passing before them and not knowing all that they meant.  The images were quick and fleeting at best.

They had limited knowledge of where their journey would lead them...many to places where they would not have chosen if asked at this point. But what they saw even from their fleeting perspective was life changing. They grabbed their things and followed.  That is much the way this life you have called me to is.  I see only a very limited perspective, ground level moving sometimes way too fast to understand all that it means.

Lord Jesus--In this day I want to follow your invitation to the journey.  I want to continue to follow you where you lead. The scenery changes with time but you are still leading and your way is always best.  Keep me between the guardrails and headed in the direction of your grace...toward mercy, toward honesty, toward humility, and toward your kingdom come on earth as it is in heaven.

Peterson, Eugene H. (2006-06-15). The Message Remix 2.0: The Bible In contemporary Language (p. 1795). NavPress. Kindle Edition.