I have a book entitled “52 men of the Bible” written by Carl Beech, one of the leaders of Christian Vision for Men. It takes a look at these men, starting with Adam and finishing, of course, with Jesus. Towards the end of the book comes the look at the disciples and other men of the New Testament. Having read about these men again I have to say I take my hat off to them. Once Jesus had been crucified, raised from the dead, and ascended into Heaven they could well have felt lost. Their leader had gone, and although they had seen him, spoken with him, and received the Holy Spirit, the three years they had been with him, learning and preparing for this time must have seemed all too short. Now they would be labelled as being one of ‘his’ friends, perhaps considered outcasts, troublemakers, men to be avoided. Maybe it would be better to go back to being fishermen, a taxman, or anything rather than drawing attention to themselves. Who would blame them?
Of course, that’s exactly what they didn’t do. They did as Jesus had taught them and went forth spreading the word of God and creating more disciples. And it cost all but one of them their lives eventually and most by crucifixion. But they did it anyway, regardless of what it might cost them, and with such enthusiasm that Christianity became a reality and spread throughout most of the world.
And then there was Paul. He hunted down those who became followers, and turned them over to the Pharisees if he caught any of them. That is until Jesus spoke to him on the road to Damascus. Then he became possibly the biggest disciple of that time and walked across the kingdoms of the known world spreading the word of God with no thought for himself. He certainly walked the line.
So, are we walking the line? Or are we just content in our own comfortable life, cared for by God, but not really standing up for Jesus? I’m sure you can find “I walk the line” by Johnny Cash, it’s been used before. We need to start walking, me included.
Jim Finch
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