Sinners!

“Jesus departed to the mountain to pray, and he spent the night in prayer to God. When day came, he called his disciples to himself, and from them he chose Twelve, whom he also named Apostles: Simon, whom he named Peter, and his brother Andrew, James, John, Philip, Bartholomew, Matthew, Thomas, James the son of Alphaeus, Simon who was called a Zealot, and Judas the son of James, and Judas Iscariot, who became a traitor.” Luke 6:12-16

Jesus prayed the whole night, and when he went down He chose after this night of prayer, His twelve apostles, fishermen, a tax collector, and one who would betray him. Are we missing something here? When we pray the whole night, we expect God’s guidance, His wisdom, His light shining on our concerns to give us the right path to take. But why did Jesus choose these men? 

Why did God choose Rahab the harlot, David the adulterer, Jacob the thief, Judah the fornicator, Tamar the deceiver, Abraham the liar… the list goes on. And the most surprising thing is all these sinners are listed in the genealogy of Christ! They are everyday sinners just like you and me, and God CHOSE them, USED them! Why? 

In Colossians 2:8, we read St. Paul’s words: “See to it that no one captivate you with an empty, seductive philosophy according to the tradition of men, according to the elemental powers of the world and not according to Christ.” We see here that God does not choose according to the standards of the world. He has a different tradition, a different economy, a different culture. 

While we run around in search of wealth, beauty, fun, popularity, power or fame, God does not put any value on these things. What He wants more than anything is to bring us to a relationship with Him, and to one day bring us to heaven. And He will use sinners like you and me to accomplish His purpose.