In Mark’s account of the calling of the twelve disciples, he says, “He appointed them to be with him…” (Mark 3:14) I am of the opinion that this is our first responsibility if we are to be numbered among the disciples of Christ. If we are to know someone, it is necessary that we spend time with them getting to know them. That is especially true if we are to know Jesus Christ, especially if we are to become like the Jesus we say we know.
The kind of knowing to which I refer is the knowing that results from sharing personal experiences with Jesus; it is the kind of knowing that comes from having intimate communion and companionship with Jesus; it is the kind of knowing that grows out of close association and fellowship with Jesus. You might say it is much like the difference between knowing a person’s resume and reputation and knowing the person themselves. It is only by being with Jesus that we will come to see what He sees the way He sees it; that we will come to hear what He hears the way He hears it; that we will come to feel what He feels the way He feels it; and, come to know what He knows the way He knows it. There is no other way for us to begin to understand the mind and capture the spirit of Jesus, to experience the passion of Jesus for the Kingdom of God, to share the vision of Jesus and participate in the trust that Jesus has for the Father unless we spend time with Jesus.
If we are serious about being disciples of Christ Jesus and if it is our deep desire to be transformed into His likeness, then we must do what those first disciples who were called by Jesus did. Our first order of business must be that we daily and with deliberate intent spend time alone with Jesus. We must make time for “one-on-one” encounters with Him through our private prayers, our reading of the scriptures, our moments of meditation and contemplation, our moments of listening for His guidance and direction and those occasions when we quietly bask in the joy that comes just from being in the Master’s presence.
I submit to you that being with Jesus made a radical difference in the lives of those first 12 disciples. The Gospel writer John reports that there came a time when “many of his disciples turned back and no longer followed him”. (John 6:66) His further reports that Jesus raised the question to the twelve, “You do not want to leave to do you?”, to which Simon Peter answers, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. We believe and know that you are the Holy One of God.” (John 6:6:67-69) These disciples knew what they knew primarily because they had been with Jesus. Likewise, we should know that we know what we know because we too, have been with Jesus.
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ok, this is imperative. faith in God’s love is the enrite point. if u truly understand the love, and act upon that, miracles will happen. there is no way I have seen all that I have seen from my very perspective of life, on accident. and to understand it all, is absolutely freeing. that freedom, is what we are to act on. FAITH!!! u believe in God, but do u believe in His love? FOR YOU?!?! He came here, Himself, in human form, and let us kill him so He could be our One and only sacrifice. All of everything u worry about has absolutely no merit when u come to this realization! but, we are all on our own paths. however, if u just happened upon this , believe me when I tell you, IT WAS NOT BY ACCIDENT.