When I think about Jesus’ disciples, it always makes me smile. They are such a perfect picture of how everyone can be used by God and how everyone is called by God to do the mission He has set out for us to do. They were all outcasts, really. No one had prestige or status or were all knowing when it came to the Scriptures. They’re only asset was their willingness to follow Jesus. BUT they were constantly making mistakes, misunderstanding what Jesus was talking about, blurting out things before thinking and ultimately all of them fled when Jesus was arrested. BUT He loved them anyway. He called them anyway. He chose them anyway.
So, as followers of Christ, we can’t make excuses that our brokenness or personality traits or shameful pasts should keep us away from what Jesus is calling us to do or better – commanding us to do. He is still commanding us to “Go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit and teaching them everything I have commanded you and surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age”(Matthew 28:19-20). The call is to be disciples who live as disciples and who do the ministry of a disciple. That means there is evidence that we’re Jesus’ disciples. We need to show others what Jesus commanded us to do. We need to interact with people, love people and show people how Jesus designed us all to live. If they see us, hear us, and experience this from us, then hopefully they will in return interact with people, love people and show people how Jesus designed life to be lived. The disciples tripped up, mis-spoke, misunderstood, but they picked themselves up and moved forward in the mission Christ set out for His people – no matter what the circumstances happening in the world around them. So, Jesus is still expectant of us to carry out His mission, so that everyone in our nation and beyond will know of Him, and He’s expecting us, with all our flaws, to do it!