On the day Jesus ascended to heaven, He directed the disciples to be His witnesses. He promised a helper (Holy Spirit) and instructed them to go back to Jerusalem and wait for the Holy Spirit.
 
Obediently, the disciples returned to Jerusalem and devoted themselves to prayer as they waited. With Judas’ betrayal of Jesus, there were now eleven disciples. Peter led the charge of adding another to their ranks, citing Psalm 109:8, which says, “May his days be few, may another take office.” Peter suggested two candidates for this position: Justus and Matthias.
 
A meaningful reflection of Jesus happens when we walk with Jesus no matter our title.
 
Peter declared the replacement needed to be someone who had accompanied Jesus and the disciples from the baptism of Jesus to His ascension. Essentially, someone who had been on the journey for the past three years as a disciple despite not having the title. Justus and Matthias both met these criteria and eventually Matthias was chosen to fill the vacancy created by Judas.
 
For three years, Matthias walked with Jesus. He wasn’t one of the “chosen” twelve, who had a calling story that we find in scripture. Somewhere along the line, He had an encounter with Jesus, gave his life to following Him and did so faithfully for three years. His faithful obedience to Jesus without the title landed inside “the twelve” after the unexpected happened.
 
Walking with Jesus makes us prime candidates for kingdom promotion. Jesus is looking for Christians who take action. Not action, for the sake of action. But action that stems from obedience and steps in faith. It can be tempting to limit what we do based upon our title or position. So, we say things like:
 
“That’s not my job.”
“I don’t know enough.”
“I don’t get paid enough.”
 
The main title for a follower of Jesus is servant. As King, Jesus is looking for servants who will follow Him, taking obedience-based action regardless of circumstance and notoriety. We are not guaranteed a promotion in title, but in opportunity. Jesus said, “One who is faithful in very little is also faithful in much, one who is dishonest in very little is also dishonest in much.”
 
Faithfully following Jesus where He has us prepares us for where He is leading us.

Keep Reflecting Jesus!