Nashville, Tennessee, United States - The Upper Room Daily Devotional "Unsung Heroes" Saturday, 3 May 2014 - Read John 1:35-42

Nashville, Tennessee, United States - The Upper Room Daily Devotional "Unsung Heroes" Saturday, 3 May 2014 - Read John 1:35 Again, the next day, John was standing with two of his disciples, 36 and he looked at Jesus as he walked, and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God!” 37 The two disciples heard him speak, and they followed Jesus. 38 Jesus turned, and saw them following, and said to them, “What are you looking for?”
They said to him, “Rabbi” (which is to say, being interpreted, Teacher), “where are you staying?”
39 He said to them, “Come, and see.”
They came and saw where he was staying, and they stayed with him that day. It was about the tenth hour.[a] 40 One of the two who heard John, and followed him, was Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother. 41 He first found his own brother, Simon, and said to him, “We have found the Messiah!” (which is, being interpreted, Christ[b]). 42 He brought him to Jesus. Jesus looked at him, and said, “You are Simon the son of Jonah. You shall be called Cephas” (which is by interpretation, Peter).
Footnotes:
a. John 1:39 4:00 PM.
b. John 1:41 “Messiah” (Hebrew) and “Christ” (Greek) both mean “Anointed One”.
One of the two who heard John speak and followed him was Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother.--John 1:40 (NRSV)
I recently read a book that outlined the lives of Jesus’ twelve disciples. I was especially interested to learn about Andrew. As today’s scripture points out, he introduced his brother Peter to Christ, and Peter turned out to be the leader of the disciples. But all of that happened because of what Andrew did. To me, Andrew was an unsung hero among the disciples. The Bible certainly has its “star players,” the ones we hear about often in the Old and New Testaments. But our heritage of faith also includes the less well-known players, like Andrew, who play an important role without receiving as much attention. Our role in serving God may receive lots of attention, and there’s nothing wrong with that. But when it comes to serving the Lord, all roles are important — even those that seem to be minor. The apostle Paul summed it up well in his letter to the Colossians: “Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart . . . It is the Lord Christ you are serving” (3:23, 24, NIV). That’s a great reminder for us all.
The Author: John D. Bown (Minnesota, USA)
Thought for the Day: God calls us to serve even when we don’t receive recognition.
Prayer: Dear God, thank you for those who do your work without expecting recognition from others. Help us to remember that the work we do is your work. Amen.
Prayer focus: For those seeking ways to serve the Lord
-------