Make Your Mind Up

What a transformation! It is hard to believe that these are the same people whose limitations were so evident in the Gospels. Are these the men who quarreled over who was the greatest and who abandoned Jesus in the garden when he was arrested? Much of this narrative is outside my experience, and I feel out of my depth. Here is Jesus’ continuing ministry in word and deed. The early church seemed to act like a magnet, drawing others to them both in faith and in need from an ever-widening circle. How frustrating this must have been to those who believed that, in executing Jesus, they had stopped the Jesus movement in its tracks!

When my toddler daughter first encountered an ice-cream cone she was both drawn by its taste, and held back by its temperature. The twin response of longing and fear was comical to watch, but mirrors here the response of the crowd. There was no denying that something quite extraordinary was happening. Moreover there was nothing deceitful, underhanded or pretentious about it. The sheer quality of the apostles’ lives challenged any who would doubt their motives or question their intentions. There was much to attract, yet they hesitated. Sadly, there is sometimes little to attract others today, as our distinctiveness is watered down for one reason or another. 

Perhaps they realized then, as others do now, that to fully embrace the Christian faith would require a total rethinking of their lives. Better to remain safely at a distance with a spectator mentality, or simply sample its products–here, healing and deliverance. But for some, the cost of not responding was greater than that of embracing this whole new world. They saw in Jesus the fulfillment of all their hopes and longings, and they made their choice.

How fully have you embraced the Christian life? How distinctive is your life in Christ? Where might change be needed?