Luke 6:12-16

Luke 6:12-16

And it became in this day for Him to go out into the wilderness to pray, and He was spending the whole night in prayer to God.  And when day became, He called His disciples to Himself and after choosing twelve out of them, who He also called apostles: Simon – whom He also called Peter, Andrew his brother, James, John, Philip, Bartholomew, Matthew, and Thomas and James Alphaeus, and Simon – who was being called the zealot, and Judas the son of James, and Judas Iscariot – who became the one who gave Him over.

Thoughts for Today

First Thought:

Once more we see Jesus going out on His own to pray.  When Jesus needs to truly commune with the Father, we see Jesus escaping human society.  We Jesus needs to get close to the Father, He distances Himself from humanity.  There is something to be said for our ability to draw closer to God when we diminish the distractions around us.

When you need to commune with God, where do you go?  When you need to draw close to the Father, what distractions do you need to eliminate?

Second Thought:

However, we need to be careful with the thought above.  Yes, Jesus goes out on His own to pray.  However, Jesus doesn’t stay out in the wilderness.  Jesus goes out to pray so that He could come back and do the work of the Father.  Jesus doesn’t commune with God to get rid of humanity.  Jesus communes with the Father so that He can be better prepared to work with humanity and bring them closer to God.

Is it ever tempting to want to escape humanity entirely?  Why is this a dangerously wrong thought?

Third Thought:

Look at what it is that Jesus was called to do.  Jesus needed to commune with the Father to choose His disciples.  Sometimes we think about discipleship in very casual terms.  Jesus doesn’t think so.  Jesus takes this decision very seriously.  Jesus has a group of followers, and from them He needs to pick a dozen and draw them closer than the rest.  That is not an easy choice.  Neither is that a choice to be nonchalant about.  If Jesus treats this choice with such sincerity, we would be wise to do the same.

Why do you think Jesus treats this decision so seriously?  What can go wrong if we try and disciple people whom we have not been called by God to disciple?  Why is it always important to remember that God should determine those we disciple?  Why is it important to remember this about others who disciples but who may not choose to disciple you?

Passage for Tomorrow: Luke 6:17-19