Luke 6:12-16
Imagine you were choosing a team for the most important job in the history of the world. You would want well-educated people of influence who had complementary skills and could work well together. Yet look at the list of apostles whom Jesus chose.
There were small business owners, fishermen and family men. There were zealots, passionately dedicated to the overthrow of Rome, and a Jewish tax collector, a betrayer to his people and an employee of Rome. There was reputed nobility - tradition says that Bartholomew Nathaniel had royal blood. And there was Judas, who would give up Jesus for thirty pieces of silver.
Certainly that mix was a recipe for disaster! Why would Jesus choose these people? Because He was guided and directed by God. It's easy to imagine Jesus objecting to these choices, yet Jesus was obedient to God's plan. After praying all night, Jesus named this contentious, ragtag group of men to His inner circle. By trusting God's direction, Jesus called the very people that God needed to fulfill the story of salvation.
Sometimes we may wonder why God put into our lives the mix of people that He did. Some may be easier to get along with while some may challenge us to our core. But God has His reasons and His plans. Often times the most challenging children, spouse, family members, friends draw us closest to the Lord and help us to change in many powerful ways.
The key is to keep our focus on Jesus, not on the faults and difficulties of those around us. Look at the disciples. God chose what the world would consider foolish to be the foundation of His Church. Surely He can work through each of us and those in our lives to accomplish His great purposes.
** Devotion taken from The Sanctuary for Lent 2016 by Sue Mink
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