Brothers

"Lieutenant Welsh remembered walking around the sleeping men, and thinking to himself that 'they had looked at and smelled death all around them all day but never dreamed of applying the term to themselves.  They hadn't come to fear.  They hadn't come to die.  They had come to win."

Stephen Ambrose ~ E Company, 101st Airborne 

It's interesting to witness it when you see it.  Even more interesting to become a part of it.  That being the evolution of a group of men from mere acquaintances into a group that will literally walk through hell for their brothers.  History is full of stories of these groups of men who came together to form bonds which were never broken, even after their calling had come to an end.  The Tuskegee airmen, bonding together in their fight against not only the Germans, but the racial divide in their own country.  The young men of the 1980 United States Olympic hockey team, who bonded together to defeat perhaps the best team the sport had ever known.  Then there were the "Band of Brothers" of E company of the 101st Airborne division in World War Two.  From the chaos of Normandy to the end of the war, these men fought, bled and died as one.  Whether it is the hell of war or a common belief that brings a group of common men together, it is always interesting to see the interaction within the group.  While we're not a large group, I enjoy a bond with a small group of fellow believers, some of whom I've known for some time.  However, as I thought about this writing, something else more interesting caught my attention.  Twelve men with perhaps nothing in common other than a few who shared the occupation of fishing for a living.  There were a few fisherman, a tax collector as well as a religious zealot prone to stoking calls for rebellion amongst the Jewish people.  Who would have ever thought that such a ragtag group could ever be molded into something positive?  Nobody...but Jesus.  As Jesus began His ministry, He called each and every one of these twelve men to follow Him.  One has to wonder the reactions of these men as Jesus invited them to "Come and see" {John 1:39}.  As we ourselves consider the possibilities of giving our lives to Jesus, we are faced with the same decisions which the twelve disciples also were.  What if I'm wrong?  What if He leads me astray?  This is all based on fears of the unknown.  The advantage that we have over these men is that we have the advantage of history on our side.  We already know where it is that Jesus will lead us.  If we are indeed willing, He will walk the journey with us.

Then Jesus turned, and seeing them following, said to them, 'What do you seek?"  They said to Him, 'Rabbi (which is to say, when translated, Teacher), "where are you staying?"  He said to them, "come and see."  They came and saw where He was staying, and remained with Him that day (now it was about the tenth hour).

John 1: 38 - 39 NKJV 

So it is that Jesus called to Himself a group of twelve key followers who would not only follow Him, but live amongst Him as well.  Yes, there were others who followed Jesus from time to time, but this group of men were the core group who followed, and learned from Jesus during His ministry.  It is with this group that Jesus spent His ministry teaching and preparing for His death.  I've often wondered what it would have been like as one of the disciples of Jesus.  Of course, we know a lot of what the day to day life of these men was already.  Fishing, listening and learning from Jesus.  But these disciples of Jesus also shared life with the Lord.  That is, they shared good times as well as bad.  They shared jokes and stories as well as their experiences.  The truth is, I might long to know what sharing life with Jesus would have been like, but in a matter of speaking we already have an idea of this experience.  The apostle Paul tells us in a few various scriptures that we live with Christ Jesus today.  Paul reveals to us that it is Jesus who lives is us {Galatians 2:20, Romans 6:8}.  Not only do we get the benefit of walking side by side with Jesus, but we can also stake the claim that we (gasp!) are Jesus.  Now, try relating that truth to some pastor sometime and you may get mocked as a heretic, but is scripture really disputable?  The Lord spoke it, so it must be true?  I do not disregard scripture simply because it is difficult to understand.  I imagine that some of the teachings of Jesus were difficult for the disciples to comprehend as well.  No matter, I'm happy to be among my group of brothers. 

~Scott~