And you’re never the same again.
Every so often in life, we meet people that impact us profoundly. Either by their great minds, their great hearts or their great attitudes. By the way they live their lives, they unknowingly draw us in. We find ourselves wanting to glean some of their knowledge or love or character. Time spent with them is rich and warm. Conversations flow easily and run deep. And every time we’re with them, we walk away feeling encouraged and motivated and full. In some small way we are changed.
I was thinking about how the disciples must have felt in those years that they got to spend with Jesus. His wisdom must have left them with their mouths hanging open. His loving heart, no doubt, left them in awe. And His attitudes about life and circumstances and God surely left them only wanting more.
Can you imagine how they were changed? Every conversation they had with Jesus carried impact. Every miracle He performed must have shifted their perspective of how God works. Each time He told a story, they received new spiritual understanding.
They saw Him touching the untouchable and healing their bodies. They saw Him talking with “sinners” and healing their hearts. Everything that He said and did helped the disciples emerge from the box of their limited knowledge as they began to tap into His.
They saw Him die with humility and grace, never wavering in His love for mankind. They saw that He wasn’t angry because He was falsely accused, unfairly and brutally beaten and nailed to a cross like a criminal. Instead, His heart and mind knew beyond the shadow of a doubt that this was why He came to earth. To save the unsaveable and the unworthy.
They saw Him come back to life and pour that life into them in the coming days so that they would be ready to take all that they had observed and learned from His ministry and share it with the world. He would return to heaven and they would be His representatives to carry on what He had begun.
We have the opportunity to spend time and do life with this same Jesus that they knew. To allow His life to rub off on ours. The mission that they disciples were given is our mission, too. To spread the love, the joy, the hope we have with others. To pass Jesus on.
And you’re never the same again…
John 15:15 – I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you.
Matthew 5:14-16 – “You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.”
Mark 16:15 – And then he told them, “Go into all the world and preach the Good News to everyone.
John 13:34-35 – “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”
