“Very truly I tell you, whoever believes in me will do the works I have been doing, and they will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father. And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it.”
– John 14:12-14
In Jesus’ day, the call to be a disciple was a call to be just like the rabbi you were following. Back then, you might literally see a rabbi walking ahead with a few young men following behind him trying to cover the exact same footprints. If the rabbi was left-handed, his disciples would learn to write left-handed too, because they wanted to be just like him. They would tell all of the same jokes and even dress like him and try to copy his appearance. While we may perceive this as strange in our individualistic culture, this is exactly what these young men were supposed to do; they were to become disciplined in the way they acted, looked, preached and thought, just like the rabbi. The more they could be like him, the better. You see, to be a disciple is a calling to do certain things more than it is to not do things. When Jesus calls the disciples, they have an innate understanding that what He does, they should do too. Friend, the same is true for you today. Not only can you do what Christ did, you should do what He did. This is why Jesus says to His disciples, “anyone who believes in Me will do the works I have been doing, and will do even greater things.” What does He mean by that? He means that He needs you to carry on His ministry because He has gone to His Father. Now that He has left the earth, you are empowered to do the same kinds of things He did in order to give heart to a fallen, hopeless world. In Jesus, you not only have the power to do the impossible, you have His blessing to carry on His ministry, and that’s amazing news! |
Prayer
Jesus, thank you for commissioning me to do great things in your Name. I receive your call on my life and I pray for your power to carry it out.
Reflection
How are you carrying on Jesus’ ministry today?
One Response
It is so true, to find time with the Lord. My husband walked home with Jesus May 17 of this year. So you see I need more time with the Lord and I find it at odd times during the day. He is so helpful to me no matter where I am or what I am doing.
My Mom was instrumental in being there for me and pointing the way to Sunday School. My parents did not attend Church except when I was baptized at age 5 and when I was confirmed. They were always interested in me and what I learned at Sunday School. I continued to see the Lord throughout my life. However I was in my late 60’s attending Bible Study that I learned about Christ, truly learned. I am almost 90 and know I have much more to learn. Your devotionals every day, I look forward to them as they feed my soul. God Bless you and please continue to give us a bit of God every day. Sincerely Gloria