Do you remember a time when you felt important because of your association with someone else? Maybe it was in school and you got to hang with the cool kids. Maybe it was being asked to lunch by company leadership. Perhaps it even happened at church when you spent more time than usual with your new friend, the pastor.
As humans we sometimes think our friends, acquaintances, or colleagues elevate our status. It is true that whom we surround ourselves with is important. Parents are correct when they tell their children to hang out with the right crowd. Successful people do most times achieve success by surrounding themselves with other successful people. But the reality is that who we really are is mostly determined by our own actions, not the actions of others.
The trap for a Christian is the belief that it is enough to simply associate with Jesus Christ. James and John thought something similar in Mark’s Gospel when they asked for seats of prominence next to Jesus in his coming kingdom. But Jesus explained to them that essentially it is not who you associate with that makes all the difference, it is becoming like those with whom you associate. We are called to become Jesus in the world, to be a servant of all, just as he chose to do.
I bet it was great for the first disciples to hang with Jesus, the savior of the world. But in the end, the goal was not for others to look at them and think they were so wonderful. The goal was for others to look at them and see not them, but only Jesus. If that can happen to us, now, that’s cool.
Tracy Earl Welliver, MTS
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