Jesus went up on a mountainside and called to him those he wanted, and they came to him. He appointed twelve that they might be with him and that he might send them out to preach and to have authority to drive out demons. These are the twelve he appointed: Simon (to whom he gave the name Peter), James son of Zebedee and his brother John (to them he gave the name Boanerges, which means “sons of thunder”), Andrew, Philip, Bartholomew, Matthew, Thomas, James son of Alphaeus, Thaddaeus, Simon the Zealot and Judas Iscariot, who betrayed him.  Mark 3:13-19 (NIV)

[Author’s Note: No, I will not talk about my recent service trip forever, but while the memories are still fresh, buckle in for a couple more devotionals including stories from that trip (including this one!)]

Resting 1800 feet above sea level in the Tennessee mountains sits a conference center where 49 students lived for a week in early December 2023. Most of the students’ main activities consisted of service projects with the exception of a trip to the Dollywood Amusement Park and a sunrise hike to an overlook. 

The morning of that hike was the last day of the trip (so everyone was exhausted - and it was 6 o’clock in the morning), it was freezing cold, and the hike was a mile of incline the whole way up (the hike ended at 3300 ft. elevation, meaning we gained 1500 in our one mile hike). It was brutal, but two things made it 100% worth it: the view at the top, and the company we shared it with. 

Our passage this week is one you may have heard before, where Jesus named each of His 12 apostles. These apostles are the people He chose to “do life with,” to set an example for the rest of humanity. When He picked only these 12 people, Jesus was not being exclusive and trying to say “No one can be in my presence besides this group.” Instead, Jesus was making known that we have the opportunity to be with Him. Crowds of people still followed Jesus around, and they were affected by even more notable miracles than the apostles. Jesus had to pick a few people to help guide what would become the fledgling church, but the offer of His presence was always extended to those who were not the apostles as well.

The group that chose to go on that difficult sunrise hike would not have done it if only one person was going by themselves. Similarly, Jesus offers us His presence throughout our “hike of life.” He knows that our best “hike” will be with Him, and He uses the apostles to show us just what is possible when we choose to be with Him (i.e. medical miracles, true peace, eternal life with Him). 

How can you be with Jesus as you take the next steps of the “hike of life”? How can you follow the apostles’ initiative to use service and day-to-day ministry to grow even closer to Christ? The hike will still be difficult; there will be roots and rocks and steep sections. But with the best company - Jesus - the view at the top of the hike will be better than imagined.