Covered in Dust

Have you ever understood what it means to be a disciple of Jesus? Do you ever really think about Jesus as your Rabbi? Because as a Christ follower, that’s what Jesus is, your Rabbi. Your teacher, your leader, your interpreter of the Bible, and the one who instructs you on how you should live your life. Disciples were followers of a certain Rabbi that were absolutely the BEST of the BEST who were educated in the Talmud (Old Testament). If they were called to follow a Rabbi, the Rabbi would say, ”Come, follow me.” These men would drop everything and leave their home, family, friends, town, and everything that they know to follow this teacher of The Law. They want to become like the Rabbi and do the things he does. They work their entire lives to be like that Rabbi. Rabbi's were so highly respected that people would walk behind their rabbi so that the dust from the ground that rabbi walks on would fall upon them and bless them.
Do you get the importance of this? Jesus calls himself our Rabbi. He called 12 men to become his followers, but they were not “the best of the best”. They never made the cut. Yet He believes that these men have what it takes to become like Him and do the things that He does. He then commands them to go and make disciples of all nations and teach them to obey Him, our Rabbi. And guess what? They do it! They go into all the corners of the earth and preach the gospel that we are hearing today! The men who were not good enough and didn’t make the cut were good enough in the eyes of Jesus, our Rabbi.
We are Jesus’ disciples. He has faith in us that we can be like Him. It is our own self that doubts if we can be like Him.

May you believe in God. But may you come to see that God believes in you.
May you have faith in Jesus. But may you come to see that Jesus has faith that you can be like him. A person of love and compassion and truth. A person of forgiveness and peace and grace and joy and hope. And may you be covered in the dust of your Rabbi, Jesus. - Rob Bell