It isn’t interesting that we look up to those in our present day who seem to be getting it all right. Why wouldn’t and why shouldn’t we? They are doing well, they show us we can do better than we are currently achieving. It is not per-se inspirational… but it is something to try and achieve. It would almost be absurd not to applaud those who have done well, we should congratulate them and learn from what they are doing that seems to just work.
However, if I continued down that vein of thought it would be a steaming pile of platitudes that would more or less reaffirm how crappy I might be feeling and that would get tossed around like chimpanzees having a tantrum.
My mind drifts over to the failures who have pulled themselves out of their self-pitying muck-ridden mire and risen above the challenges that use to bog them down. Remember some guys who were given a chance by Jesus? A bunch of fishermen, who though they enjoyed their lives on the boats I am sure, probably realized they would never have the authority to challenge anyone on their beliefs or questions on their faith. They were sheep.
But then one day, one crazy bearded fellow, who has an undeniable authority that needs no declaration comes up, says, “Drop what you are doing and come with me.” And they do. They didn’t have to, but they did. They knew the jig was up and the world was about to be turned upside down. Kings would be toppled and peasants would assume the throne. They followed him throughout the one kingdom who should have embraced him with open arms, rallied behind him with proclamations of joy and faith, existing leadership and all. But instead that leadership, that kingdom, out of fear of losing their positions of success, insulted this man of divine authority. They tried to set him up for failure, they questioned his truth, they conspired to kill, and to set his people apart from him. And why? Because they were trapped in their personal success.
And when the time passed, and the divine authority died, rose again, and returned to his kingdom above, he passed his authority onto those who had been successes… Wrong… He passed it onto The Sheep who broke away from the rest of the herd. He gave them unbelievable authority over the very nature of the world, defying all natural precepts. And they too would pay for the authority given to them. But they would succeed in the end.
This is obviously an extremely truncated concept of Jesus, the Disciples, and the events of their ministry. But the major question we should be asking ourselves are… If Jesus came, would we recognize him for who he is? And if we did (because I believe many of the Pharisees did but did not want to lose their authority) would we lay down all of our trappings of success and allow ourselves to become his sheep. Would we let ourselves be seen as failures in order to rise above and be successes? Or would we stand in the way, and look to those who would promote our successes in order to stand in the way of HIM?
