Out of this massive crowd that was large enough it caused Jesus to plan an escape route (the boat), Jesus selected twelve to whom he would entrust his ministry. Surely he had watched these twelve for some time already. How did they act or react? What was their heart like? Some had already received a general call to follow him - Peter, Andrew, James, John, Levi - but this was more. This was a call to a very focused ministry. It makes me wonder how closely do I "watch the crowd" so that I can call a few to a higher standard or greater challenge?
What stands out to me is what he called them to. He listed three things, i.e., be with him, send them to preach and give them authority over demons. We focus our time almost exclusively on preaching; whatever happened to the first and last portions? We seem to have bought into the concept that authority is a bad thing - since it is so ofter abused - and so we tend to steer away from embracing it. That leaves us often with non-authoritative preaching.
Yet it is step one that really gets left out. As long as we suffer from hurry-sickness in this culture, we will never manage to just "be with him". Why is that so hard for us? Why do we so undervalue the idea of spending time in a spiritual relationship with our Creator? Before they were sent or given power, they were called to "be with". Of the three, it is the simplest action to understand; yet it is the hardest to do.
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