Wednesday, January 8, 2014
Mark 3:13-15 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 and to have authority to drive out demons.
JESUS THE CHOOSER
Luke's Gospel tells us that Jesus had been on the mountain all night long, praying. While we aren't told exactly what He was praying about, it's safe to assume some of His prayers concerned the men He was about to select as His twelve apostles.
Jesus wanted these men to remember that HE CHOSE THEM, not the other way around. Not only did he make a big deal of selecting the twelve and designating them apostles, years later he specifically reminded them of this fact. On the night before His death Jesus reminded his disciples:
"You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit--fruit that will last ..." (John 15:16).
Jesus wants Christians today to remember that same truth. We did not choose Jesus, He chose us. Many churches make a big deal out of making a "choice for Christ." They present the message of sins forgiven through Christ, but then suggest that faith is a choice. As if faith were a switch that we could turn on and off at will.
Faith is not a choice that you make. Faith is not created through saying "I believe." You cannot create faith or jump start it with a prayer. Faith is created by God through his Word and by his Holy Spirit. God called out to our hearts through the history of Christ's life, death, and miraculous resurrection. The Holy Spirit worked through this recorded history and convinced us of its truth. This is how we came to faith.
This is important, because the work of saving sinners is God's work, not ours. It is God's gift from beginning to end.
