Luke 6:12-16 Now during those days he went out to the mountain to pray; and he spent the night in prayer to God. And when day came, he called his disciples and chose twelve of them, whom he also named apostles: Simon, whom he named Peter, and his brother Andrew, and James, and John, and Philip, and Bartholomew, and Matthew, and Thomas, and James son of Alphaeus, and Simon, who was called the Zealot, and Judas son of James, and Judas Iscariot, who became a traitor.
Once again Jesus is found alone in prayer, and it was another example where Jesus is represented as praying all night. It is sometimes difficult to sacrifice busy time for quiet time but it is much easier to listen for God's voice when you have little or no distractions. I can imagine Jesus just under the stars with no village noise or even ambient light to take away his attention from the Father, just the glory of the heavens. Some important insights must have come to him in the forty days in the wilderness or these other numerous times alone listening for that guiding voice, and on this occasion it was to set aside some of his followers to be the first apostles. After they were selected they were sent to the villages and places ahead of Jesus to introduce people to the message and power of Jesus so that when Jesus arrived later they would be even more open to receive him. You most likely know that the word apostle means one to be sent. Jesus later sent out the seventy two and a pattern can be seen that disciples become apostles to be sent.
We are all meant to be apostles in that sense. It is not that we are called to be missionaries to a foreign land or far away place, but we are all sent. The Mormon church sends all their young people out for two years. I don't know how or why two years but I think the dramatic activity of being sent is important to their faith development. I think we are all sent for our whole life to introduce people to the message and power of Jesus so that when he arrives they are even more open to receive him. You see even today my coming will not save them, but I can help open the way for the Jesus the Savior. In my life as an apostle among my friends, neighbors, co-workers and others, I win some and I lose some and most of them I will never know if I won or lost, that's not my job. I am only to try to make people even more open to receive Jesus when he comes. You too are sent you know it was the pattern set by Jesus himself.
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