The Heart of an Apostle

Sometimes when I think of the Apostles I want to gently shake my head, chuckle under my breath and say, “Bless their hearts.  What a bunch of knuckleheads.”

Who were these guys?  Four blue-collar-ish fishermen, a hated tax collector, a revolutionary, a thief, and five other guys no one had ever heard of before.  They fought over who was the greatest.  They doubted.  They missed the obvious.  They fell asleep when they needed to stay awake.  They simply did not get it.  What could Jesus have been thinking, handpicking these yokels to carry on his life-changing, world-altering ministry? 

Oh, that’s right.  Jesus is the one whose ways are higher than our ways, who said the wisdom of men is foolishness to him.  Their minds were not primarily what he was after. 

It was the Apostles’ hearts that set them apart.

What exactly was it about their hearts?

For Peter it may have been clarity, the recognition of how sinful he was (Luke 5:5-8).  For Nathaniel (Bartholomew) perhaps it was his honesty (John 1:47).  For Andrew, maybe it was curiosity and a thirst for knowledge (John 1:35-40).  For Thomas, perhaps a refusal to be swayed by public opinion (John 20:25).  For John, maybe his loyalty (John 19:26,27).   Each man had his individual strengths. 

What about as a group?  Other than being from Galilee, the only other thing I find they had in common was that all were teachable.

I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. (Ezekiel 36:26) 

The Apostles make it clear that you don’t have to be Valedictorian, Class Clown or Most Likely to Succeed to play a key role in God’s Kingdom.  You just have to have an open heart. 

Any knucklehead can have that.