April 28th, 2023
Acts 1:23-26
23 So they nominated two men: Joseph called Barsabbas (also known as Justus) and Matthias. 24 Then they all prayed, “O Lord, you know every heart. Show us which of these men you have chosen 25 as an apostle to replace Judas in this ministry, for he has deserted us and gone where he belongs.” 26 Then they cast lots, and Matthias was selected to become an apostle with the other eleven.
We never really hear from Matthias again.
That is not an indictment on his character, just that he was not used by the Holy Spirit as powerfully as many of the other apostles, and certainly not in any fashion as close to how powerfully Paul was used by God.
But that does not mean that he was not a witness to the resurrection of Jesus. Not everyone who witnesses becomes famous for doing so, or for leading, or writing or preaching.
We live in a celebrity culture where we have a feeling that the more you are known, the more important you are. And this is patently untrue. While some are gifted for great influence, and are given such influence, some are destined to be incredibly important in the lives of a few, and that is no less noble, and no more important than the call to a larger influence.
Because we are so used to celebrity, we find a skewed idea of what is important. I was blessed to grow up before the internet and certainly before social media. Influence was gained by the work that one did, by the academic prowess, but what you wrote and what you did. It was not about how many followers you had, but about the work you put into those things you created that people found valuable.
In today’s culture, it is about how many people are listening, not so much about what you are saying, and there is a danger in this. How are you curating your words so that whatever influence you have makes a difference and is a benefit to someone’s life?
Was Mattias worthless to the call of God? Not at all, while we don’t know what he did, my bet is that he made a dent in the universe for the people around him. It is okay to toil for God in relative obscurity, in fact, that is a beautiful thing to do.
That is not an indictment on his character, just that he was not used by the Holy Spirit as powerfully as many of the other apostles, and certainly not in any fashion as close to how powerfully Paul was used by God.
But that does not mean that he was not a witness to the resurrection of Jesus. Not everyone who witnesses becomes famous for doing so, or for leading, or writing or preaching.
We live in a celebrity culture where we have a feeling that the more you are known, the more important you are. And this is patently untrue. While some are gifted for great influence, and are given such influence, some are destined to be incredibly important in the lives of a few, and that is no less noble, and no more important than the call to a larger influence.
Because we are so used to celebrity, we find a skewed idea of what is important. I was blessed to grow up before the internet and certainly before social media. Influence was gained by the work that one did, by the academic prowess, but what you wrote and what you did. It was not about how many followers you had, but about the work you put into those things you created that people found valuable.
In today’s culture, it is about how many people are listening, not so much about what you are saying, and there is a danger in this. How are you curating your words so that whatever influence you have makes a difference and is a benefit to someone’s life?
Was Mattias worthless to the call of God? Not at all, while we don’t know what he did, my bet is that he made a dent in the universe for the people around him. It is okay to toil for God in relative obscurity, in fact, that is a beautiful thing to do.
- Who are the “celebrity” christians that you follow or admire?
- Why?
- Who really has influence over your life?
- How can you make sure you are curating your influence in a way that is positive and a blessing to others
Posted in After
Recent
Archive
2023
January
Lovewell: A Theology - Day 1Lovewell: A Theology - Day 2Lovewell: A Theology - Day 3Lovewell: A Theology - Day 4Lovewell: A Theology - Day 5Lovewell: A Theology - Day 6Lovewell: A Theology - Day 7Lovewell: A Theology - Day 8Lovewell: A Theology - Day 9Lovewell: A Theology - Day 10Lovewell: A Theology - Day 11Lovewell: A Theology - Day 12Lovewell: A Theology - Day 13Lovewell: A Theology - Day 14Lovewell: A Theology - Day 15Lovewell: A Theology - Day 16Lovewell: A Theology - Day 17Lovewell: A Theology - Day 18Lovewell: A Theology - Day 19Lovewell: A Theology - Day 20Lovewell: A Theology - Day 21Lovewell: A Theology - Day 22Lovewell: A Theology - Day 24Lovewell: A Theology - Day 23Lovewell: A Theology - Day 25Lovewell: A Theology - Day 26Lovewell: A Theology - Day 27Lovewell: A Theology - Day 28Lovewell: A Theology - Day 29Lovewell: A Theology - Day 30Lovewell: A Theology - Day 31
February
Lovewell: A Theology - Day 32Lovewell: A Theology - Day 33Lovewell: A Theology - Day 34Lovewell: A Theology - Day 35Season 1 - IntroductionUncomfortable (S1) - Day 1Uncomfortable (S1) - Day 2Uncomfortable (S1) - Day 3Uncomfortable (S1) - Day 4Uncomfortable (S1) - Day 5Uncomfortable (S1) - Day 6Uncomfortable (S1) - Day 7Uncomfortable (S1) - Day 8Uncomfortable (S1) - Day 9Uncomfortable (S1) - Day 10Uncomfortable (S1) - Day 11Uncomfortable (S1) - Day 12Uncomfortable (S1) - Day 13Uncomfortable (S1) - Day 14Uncomfortable (S1) - Day 15Uncomfortable (S1) - Day 16Uncomfortable (S1) - Day 17
March
Uncomfortable (S1) - Day 18Uncomfortable (S1) - Day 19Uncomfortable (S1) - Day 20Uncomfortable (S1) - Day 21Uncomfortable (S1) - Day 22Uncomfortable (S1) - Day 23Uncomfortable (S1) - Day 24Uncomfortable (S1) - Day 25Uncomfortable (S1) - Day 26Uncomfortable (S1) - Day 27Uncomfortable (S1) - Day 28Uncomfortable (S1) - Day 29Uncomfortable (S1) - Day 30Uncomfortable (S1) - Day 31Uncomfortable (S1) - Day 32Uncomfortable (S1) - Day 33Uncomfortable (S1) - Day 34Uncomfortable (S1) - Day 35Campus WeekAfter - Day 1After - Day 2After - Day 3After - Day 4After - Day 5After - Day 6
April
After - Day 7After - Day 8After - Day 9After - Day 10After - Day 11After - Day 12After - Day 13After - Day 14After - Day 15After - Day 16After - Day 17After - Day 18After - Day 19After - Day 20After - Day 21After - Day 22After - Day 23After - Day 24After - Day 25After - Day 26After - Day 27After - Day 28
Categories
Tags
1 Corinthians
1 John
1 Peter
1 Samuel
2 John
3 John
Acts
Belonging
Campus Week
Certainty
Church
Clarity
Colossians
Community
Compassion
Connect Group
Crosswalk
Daily Study
Dave Ferguson
Deconstruction
Easter Week
Easter
Ecclesiastes
End of Series
End of the Week
Faith
Galatians
Galations
Gathering
Genesis
Group Study
Hebrews
Holy Wednesday
Hosea
Isaiah
James
Jeremiah
Job
John
Jonah
Joshua
Light
Lovewell: A Theology
Lovewell
Love
Luke
Mark
Matthew
Mike Rhynus
Paddy McCoy
Philippians
Proverbs
Psalms
Revelation
Romans
Sabbath
Service
Small Group Guide
Small Group Study
Small Group
The Little Letters
Timothy Gillespie
Uncomfortable
William Johnsson
Witness
Zechariah
choices
patience
rules
small group guides
2 Comments
“While some are gifted for great influence, and are given such influence, some are destined to be incredibly important in the lives of a few, and that is no less noble, and no more important than the call to a larger influence.” This quote is so powerful and needed in today’s environment of excess is superior. There are no small parts in the body of Christ
“Yes, the body has many different parts, not just one part. In fact, some parts of the body that seem weakest and least important are actually the most necessary. And the parts we regard as less honorable are those we clothe with the greatest care. So we carefully protect those parts that should not be seen, while the more honorable parts do not require this special care. So God has put the body together such that extra honor and care are given to those parts that have less dignity. This makes for harmony among the members, so that all the members care for each other. If one part suffers, all the parts suffer with it, and if one part is honored, all the parts are glad.”
1 Corinthians 12:14, 22-26 NLT
Every single person has an important role to play - thanks for this today!
Ps I always wondered what happened to Justus - that would have felt so awkward to not have been picked…