“He climbed a mountain and invited those he wanted with him. They climbed together. He settled on twelve, and designated them apostles. The plan was that they would be with him, and he would send them out to proclaim the Word and give them authority to banish demons.” (Mark 3:13-15 MSG)

What are your job description(s)? Some of us have “official” job descriptions tied to a paid position at a place of employment, and some of us don’t. Some of us have multiple job descriptions for jobs both paid and unpaid, and some of them are quite lengthy! When Jesus called the twelve, he gave them a simple and very clear job description: be with Him, speak words of life, and push back the darkness.

The apostles did just that during their time on earth, both with and without Jesus' physical presence. Our purpose as disciples is the same all these years later. How do we go about fulfilling our job description as followers of Jesus?

Be with Jesus. How do we spend time with Jesus? Praying, reading the Bible, spending time in creation, and singing songs of praise all fall into the category of time spent with Him.

Speak words of life. Are you aware of the words you speak on a daily basis? Is there a theme? How’s your tone? Matthew 15:18 says, “But what comes out of the mouth gets its start in the heart” (The Message). What comes out of your mouth will reflect the state of your heart, and time spent with Him is never wasted.

Push back the darkness. What naturally repels darkness? Light! Light naturally extinguishes darkness without speaking, though words of life do have power. 

These three points of our job description build on one another, don’t they? Jesus is the source of light, and the more time spent with Him, the brighter our lights will shine. The brighter our lights shine, the easier it is to push back the darkness!

Do you need to spend more time with Jesus today? Do you need to be more aware of the words you speak? Are you using the Light within to push back the darkness? Our “paycheck” for fulfilling our job description arrives as eternal dividends in our own lives and in the lives of others. 

One of my favorite quotes is, “Stay close to people who feel like sunlight.” I’ve tried to make that a way of life: I want the love and light of Christ to radiate from my life in such a way that those I come into contact with can’t resist its warmth. I want others to feel His love through me, and I want my life to always point others to Him. How can you radiate His love to those you’ll be around today?