We have read earlier of Jesus calling some of His first disciples, now we read of Him appointing apostles. When we are called to follow Jesus there is no guarantee of any "position" in the kingdom except that of a son and a servant, and it does not matter. My identity is in who Christ is, is His love for me, in His forgiveness of my sins, in my adoption as a son.
Jesus went up a mountainside to pray before making the final decision. Prayer is one of the many recurring themes in Luke's gospel.
The twelve are then listed. Now let us note something about this twelve. One of them would betray Jesus, one was repeatedly doubting, one would deny Jesus, and all of them would fail in Jesus' hour of need, along with various other failings and wrong attitudes showing themselves along the way. Was God's choice wrong? Absolutely not. In adverts for jobs of any significance there are usually a long list of qualities and qualifications needed, and essentially they are looking for superman, a perfect employee. Of course they never actually get this perfect employee. God knows who we are and what we are like, and His plans are built around dealing with our sinfulness and imperfections (of which there are many). We also need to bear this in mind when we work and live with people. Your wife is not perfect, your children are not perfect, your pastor is not perfect, anyone who works for you is not perfect. Most of all you and I are not perfect. This will cause many frustrations, and at times acute heartache, but the kingdom of God is designed to work with imperfect and sinful people.
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