We all yearn to live a life of significance—to “become somebody.” But not just anybody. We want to become someone people admire and respect. The problem is—there’s a step we all must take on the road to significance, and many times, we don’t like it. It’s called failure.
That’s because when we fail, it’s easy to feel that we are the mistakes we’ve made. And when we feel this way, two mindsets threaten to take over—the mindsets of shame and scarcity. Shame tells us, You should do better, but you can’t. Failure must be who you are. Scarcity tells us, You don’t have what you need to be who you’re meant to be. You might as well give up.
Jesus knew we would feel disheartened by failure. I think that’s why He went against the status quo of His time when choosing His disciples. See, in Jesus’ day, students would approach a rabbi asking if they could be his student. He would then either accept or decline the invitation to train them.
Jesus didn’t wait for His disciples to choose Him, though. He chose them first. It’s why He said in John 15:6, “You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you so that you might go and bear fruit—fruit that will last . . .”
Jesus chose His disciples so they’d understand how to live a life of lasting fruitfulness. And guess what? He chose us, too. He chose us so that, even amidst our failure, we could overcome scarcity and shame, and lead lives of true significance.
Matthew 4:18-20 gives us the account of Jesus calling two of His disciples—Andrew and Peter. The passage says: “One day as Jesus was walking along the shore of the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers—Simon, also called Peter, and Andrew—throwing a net into the water, for they fished for a living. Jesus called out to them, ‘Come, follow me, and I will show you how to fish for people!’ And they left their nets at once and followed him.”
This passage tells us a few things about Andrew and Peter’s choosing, as well as a few about our own. It tells us we all have a significant, unique design, we all require significant development, and we’ll all reveal God’s glory through significant discipline.
You probably know that Peter went on to mess up a lot, but did you also know he became a pillar of Jesus’ first church? How? I believe it’s because he constantly reminded himself that Jesus chose him first. Because Peter understood Jesus chose Him despite his past, present, and future failures, he valued consecration to Jesus much more than determination to do something great for Him.
Friends, do you feel burned out in the battle to become? If so, I encourage you too to remember—Jesus chose you. And as you choose Him in return, embracing your unique design, development and discipline, you will find significance!
