He Chose Twelve
Have you ever begun a part of a baseball game that began with what I guess could be called an unusual ceremony? The ceremony begins with two people who are chosen as captains of the teams. Without going into detail, the two people grasp one baseball bat “hand over hand” until the person whose grip is the highest on the bat gets the first choice for his team. The captains then alternate making choices until all the positions on the team are filled.
Believe me, I know how it felt years ago to be standing there while name after name was called, but none of those names was mine. After all these years, I can still hear what sounded to me like reluctance in the voice of the guy who finally called my name.
What was I to do? Should I have just packed up and gone home for the day? Should I have just totally given up on baseball? Should I have just “sat the game out” in the dugout? (That would have been difficult to do, because there were no dugouts in most of the places I played as a boy.) Should I have sulked through the entire game and given only half-hearted effort? I suppose that there were a variety of options open to me.
What I chose to do during those times was to use whatever talent I had in whatever way I could to contribute to the team. I’m sure that it was a surprise to some that, at times, I actually made a positive contribution to the collective effort.
I understand that there is absolutely no comparison between a young boy’s baseball game and the eternal mission of the Son of God. At the same time, I hope to make what I hope is a somewhat practical suggestion.
I’m reasonably sure that most of us know that Jesus had twelve apostles. We probably also know that He chose these men. That obviously means that some were not chosen.
Please give some consideration to the following verse:
And when day came, He called his disciples and chose from them twelve, whom He named apostles: (Luke 6:13)
It is of interest to notice that the twelve apostles were not somehow chosen at random from the “general population.” There was no randomness. These men were chosen after the Lord has spent an entire night in prayer (Luke 6:12). Further, these men were chosen from men who were already His disciples. By definition, then, there was a group larger than twelve who were already following Jesus, learning from Him, and seeking to model their lives after Him. From that larger group, only twelve were chosen.
It seems to me that the choices of those who were not selected as apostles may have been somewhat similar to my experiences on the ballfield. They, too, could have packed up and gone home and/or totally given up on following Jesus. After all, there were occasions when those who had followed Him for a while did just that. I suppose that they could have done a version of sitting in the dugout or could have continued to follow Jesus while giving only half-hearted effort.
I would like to think that most, if not all, of those who were not selected as apostles still found a way to serve the Lord. As far as I know, we have no real way of knowing whether or not this is true.
I do think that this narrative gives us something to consider, though. I think that I need to consider what choices I should make when somebody thinks that I am not suited for a particular position, title, or task.
If I’m really committed and conscientious, there is really only one choice that I need to even consider. I need to think back to those old ballfields and decide to use whatever talent I may have in whatever way I can in order to make a contribution to something that is much larger than one person.
To Receive Every Article from A Legacy of Faith through Email for Free, Click Here
AUTHOR: Jim Faughn
