Is Jesus interested in me? Am I someone he wants to be friends with?
"Jesus went up on a mountainside and called to him those he wanted, and they came to him. He appointed twelve- designating them apostles- that they might be with him and that he might send them out to preach..." Mark 3:13, 14. NIV.
Jesus is always calling people to come; in the Bible, we see Jesus calling all kinds of men to himself; often in the New Testament, he says, "Come to me." In the verses above, we see a specific calling of those he called apostles.
Among the many beautiful thoughts in these verses, the most precious is that he called to him those "that they might be with him." There are so many possibilities in those words. There is the idea of being close to Jesus as a friend and a companion, being with him in his experiences, seeing and observing his way of life, and sharing his likes and passions and his zeal. To be with him is to experience his love. To be with him changed the lives of the apostles, and they changed the world.
Were those apostles super saints far removed from us who experienced gifts and blessings we cannot own? A reading of the New Testament says no. They were the first generation of the church, but we being human, would tend to put them above others and ascribe them some mythical grace that we can't attain. They were just like us and being just like us. If they could be with Jesus, so can we by faith.
It does not end with just being with Jesus; he called them so that he "might send them out to preach." His intention is for his apostles to be with him and then take his life out and into the world. He did not set up a cloister or monastery with walls for his followers to hide behind, but a base where his disciples would get a vision of him and tell others about being with him.
He calls us to come to him, not to a political party, a conservative agenda, a social platform, a culture war, or even a religion but to come to him. When we lose sight of him, we no longer have his message, we may have a Christ-like message, but it is empty without him. We must remember to come to him and to preach to him.
Jesus calls us. From the cross where he died to pay for our sins, he calls us, from before time began, he knew us and is calling our name, and from his place in heaven, he is calling us to come to him. For some of us, this means the beginning of a new relationship with Jesus, and for others, it means a renewal of being with Jesus.
Post Script:
To learn more about how to come to Jesus and have him in your life, follow this link: Jesus and Salvation
"Jesus went up on a mountainside and called to him those he wanted, and they came to him. He appointed twelve- designating them apostles- that they might be with him and that he might send them out to preach..." Mark 3:13, 14. NIV.
Jesus is always calling people to come; in the Bible, we see Jesus calling all kinds of men to himself; often in the New Testament, he says, "Come to me." In the verses above, we see a specific calling of those he called apostles.
Among the many beautiful thoughts in these verses, the most precious is that he called to him those "that they might be with him." There are so many possibilities in those words. There is the idea of being close to Jesus as a friend and a companion, being with him in his experiences, seeing and observing his way of life, and sharing his likes and passions and his zeal. To be with him is to experience his love. To be with him changed the lives of the apostles, and they changed the world.
Were those apostles super saints far removed from us who experienced gifts and blessings we cannot own? A reading of the New Testament says no. They were the first generation of the church, but we being human, would tend to put them above others and ascribe them some mythical grace that we can't attain. They were just like us and being just like us. If they could be with Jesus, so can we by faith.
It does not end with just being with Jesus; he called them so that he "might send them out to preach." His intention is for his apostles to be with him and then take his life out and into the world. He did not set up a cloister or monastery with walls for his followers to hide behind, but a base where his disciples would get a vision of him and tell others about being with him.
He calls us to come to him, not to a political party, a conservative agenda, a social platform, a culture war, or even a religion but to come to him. When we lose sight of him, we no longer have his message, we may have a Christ-like message, but it is empty without him. We must remember to come to him and to preach to him.
Jesus calls us. From the cross where he died to pay for our sins, he calls us, from before time began, he knew us and is calling our name, and from his place in heaven, he is calling us to come to him. For some of us, this means the beginning of a new relationship with Jesus, and for others, it means a renewal of being with Jesus.
Post Script:
To learn more about how to come to Jesus and have him in your life, follow this link: Jesus and Salvation
