Hi All ~
Imagine the scene.
It’s the Last Supper. Peter and John have readied the Upper Room. One by one the disciples trickle in and a
crazed buzz fills the air. Everyone is wondering who it could be; each secretly
hoping it might be him. No one will come out and say it, but the topic
nonchalantly worms its way into the conversation. The elephant in the room is romping and
stomping over everyone’s heart.
Originally, most
suspected James or John. With names like the Sons of Thunder, who could top
reputations like that? Well, at least until their mother came on the scene and
tried to strike a deal with Jesus insuring her boys would have a prominent
place in His kingdom. Yeah, not a good move. Cross them off the list.
So now everyone
speculates Peter is a shoe- in. He walked on water for Pete’s sake (pardon the pun). And the cheery on top:
he was the first disciple to announce Jesus as the Christ, the Son of the
living God.
Actually, Andrew
had been thinking it several days before Peter announced it. In fact, he’s the one who first introduced
Peter to the idea. But bigmouth Peter
piped up with the answer before Andrew could even process the question.
If you want to be
picky about it, John the Baptist actually acknowledged Him as the Lamb of God
before anyone else did. But he is totally out of the question. For one thing John’s
not even a disciple, plus the whole beheading thing and all.
Yes, Andrew is
convinced it will be his big brother Peter.
Regardless of who it is,Andrew has surrendered to the conclusion it will never be
him. He’ll never be as boisterous as Peter. He does the quiet things that
others rarely even know about much less acknowledge him for. Sure it hurts a
little, but he’ll get over it. He knows in his heart of hearts that his
commitment to the Master is just as deep as Peter’s is loud. And after all,
that’s what really matters, right?
Sometimes he
wonders…
The crowd hushes at the shuffle of sandals
heard outside the room. They freeze as
the door opens and in walks the One they’ve eagerly anticipated. In seconds, Jesus warms the space with His
kind smile and a hug to those within arms reach.
After a few
obligatory “This has been a great year…” blah blah blah remarks, he finally
announces what they’ve all been waiting for.
“And the Disciple of Year goes to…”
In your wildest
dreams can you even fathom Jesus
giving out a Disciple of the Year award! It’s totally foreign to anything God
would do and deep in our hearts we know it. And yet, believers and religious
organizations flock to the idea. They say it inspires others to seek greatness
and it rewards those who’ve worked hard…
Unfortunately,
that’s just not true. Take it from someone who lived it. I’ve spent years
deprogramming from that dangerous culture.
Instead, it
teaches the Body of Christ to do the exact opposite of
II Corinthians 10:12 where
Paul warns us not to compare yourselves among yourselves. It creates levels of acceptance and spirituality,
not to mention the pride. That’s the Pharisees job! Pharisees use the
comparison method to manipulate people by preying on there desire to be loved
and accepted. They throw in the whole
“if you’re really spiritual you will…” pooh hockey to spawn manmade levels of
acceptance and love.
What about the kid
who does love God with all his heart, but just never seems to get noticed. This
method teaches that he just doesn’t quite measure up. And how about when a previous
winner doesn’t win it again, yet they’ve lived the same? That person lives confused because the
leaders he loves and admires don’t think as highly of him as they did the year
before, so maybe God doesn’t either. That’s
torture to someone striving to do right.
The only thing
disciple of the year or class of the week does is to create a system of belief
declaring who and what is acceptable to God. Sadly, it’s used it to decide
which pastors are successful and which people are the most spiritual in the
flock. The truth is many who have fallen
into that trap have become the most condemning, judgmental and proud people
within miles. We get all mixed up
thinking we can measure someone’s growth or devotion to Christ based on the
results we can see or the tasks they perform when someone is watching. They unwittingly have bound themselves with the
chains of rules and expectations that most of the time don’t matter a hill of
beans to God.
The Enemy has them
right where he wants them, squandering all their time, energy and valuable
creativity staying safe and measured.
They become unable to risk the Spirit’s leading for the overwhelming
fear of failing their own system of spirituality. The Enemy loves it. He doesn’t want you actually seeking God and
obeying His nudges. He wants you
occupied with how others view you. He
wants your efforts calculated to match the list expected of you.
As much as a safe
list appeals to us, it’s not of God. He’s not into comparing you to others and
He’s not participating in the Christian of the Year award. He’s into you, into you knowing Him and
obeying His lead, no matter what it looks like to others.
Exhausted trying
to get to the top of the most spiritual list? Here’s some good news for you
today. You can rest my friend! Regardless of what others say, God doesn’t have
a Disciple of the Year Award.
Live free and light today!
Rebecca
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