They were not all learned and trained scholars, or stalwarts of faith. They were zealots and rebels, soldiers and thieves, the unlearned and over educated, women with sketchy pasts, men with skeletons in the present, the helpless and hopeless, seekers and doubters, fence riders and deniers, and an vast assortment of other political, religious and social outcasts.
But they held Him, touched His robe, saw Him work miracles and signs and wonders, heard His voice, felt the strength and power of His grace and forgiveness, received His redeeming love, and saw His resurrection— *and* they were changed! His death and resurrection made them new— faithful, compassionate, righteous, and courageous; brave enough to live, faithful enough to die, and loved enough to do either for the sake of the Good News.
It was because of His death and resurrection, the eternal prof of His love and their salvation that they became Apostles, stalwarts of faith, the cloud of witnesses, and the people who are called by His Name.
May God transform us, who are just like them— outcasts, misfits, desperate rebels, people in need of a Savior— into worthy disciples who hold steadfast to the hope of eternal life, and are truly, fully, finally and eternally alive in the love and the joy of the Good News of Christ!
Grace and peace to you—Cassius <*}}}><
