Mark 6:12-13 They went out and preached that people should repent. They drove out many demons and anointed many sick people with oil and healed them.

We sometimes forget that Jesus’ disciples did what He did, both in word and in deed. We are astonished that, in the Upper Room before His crucifixion, Jesus told these same disciples, “I tell you the truth, anyone who has faith in me will do what I have been doing. He will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father,” (John 14:12) but it probably wasn’t such a shock to them, because they’d already been doing some of it. As to “greater things,” we have no record that anyone was healed by Jesus’ shadow, but it happened with Peter. (Acts 5:15) That Jesus’ promise wasn’t limited to the original 12 apostles is illustrated by people being healed by Paul’s sweat cloths. (Acts 19:11-12) God isn’t stingy with His pow­er, but He is strict about being given credit. The minute we start talking or acting like the power is ours, we are in deep trouble. The problem is that this runs into human pride. We so want to take credit for anything good! However, we’ve got to remember that an ambassador’s credentials depend on the one who sent them. We are indeed ambassadors for Christ, (2 Corinthians 5:20) but we are nothing without Him. At the time of this verse, “apostle” wasn’t that special a title. It just meant someone who was sent on behalf of another. By the time the New Testament was written, the word had acquired much of the meaning we give it, but in the world at large it wasn’t a strictly religious word at all. Every believer needs to realize that, to some extent at least, they represent Christ to the world around them, and hold themselves available to Him to be sent and used whenever, wherever, and however He directs. Like “saints,” which we make a very special category but the New Testament applies to all believers, we need to understand that apostles are an ongoing office and function in the Body of Christ. (Ephesians 4:11)

This is something I have thought about quite a few times over the years. It has been pointed out by numbers of scholars that the closest modern equivalent to “apostle” in contemporary language is “missionary,” and I am the son of missionaries and am a missionary myself. I’m not to run from that, nor to let it puff me up. After all, I have never had a “sending organization,” not even a local church, so I have often described myself as simply a Caucasian pastor in Japan. While we were in seminary, butting heads with the Southern Baptist Foreign Mission Board, my wife stated clearly, “I’d rather be Lord sent than Board sent.” That is absolutely spot on. Human credentials mean very little indeed, but I am deeply honored and grateful that my Lord has seen fit to send me, and I am to live each moment appropriately to that commission.

Father, thank You for this reminder, and for Your grace to me. Thank You for using me in spite of my many weaknesses and failures. You are in the process of changing my job description, and I don’t yet see what shape that will take. Help me be fully humble and available at all times and in all ways, so that Your purposes may be accomplished on Your schedule for Your glory. Thank You. Praise God!