Appearances can be deceiving

^{Luke 6:12-16}

¹² One day soon afterward Jesus went to a mountain to pray, and he prayed to God all night. ¹³ At daybreak he called together all of his disciples and chose twelve of them to be apostles. Here are their names:

¹⁴     Simon (he also called him Peter),

Andrew (Peter’s brother),

James,

John,

Philip,

Bartholomew,

¹⁵     Matthew,

Thomas,

James (son of Alphaeus),

Simon (the Zealot),

¹⁶     Judas (son of James),

Judas Iscariot (who later betrayed him).

Holy Bible : New Living Translation. 1997, c1996 (electronic ed.) (Lk 6:11). Wheaton: Tyndale House.

In my last post, I talked about how important it is for us to pray.  It is how we know what God wants us to do.  Jesus did this, and because of that He always did the right thing.

I was reading the above passage this morning, and a question came to me.  Jesus spent all night praying before choosing which of His followers would become His closest companions, His 12 disciples.  The decision was an important one.  He wanted to make sure He was getting the right men.  He didn't want to chose based on His human perceptions or preferences.  He wanted the men His Father had chosen.

And amazingly, Judas Iscariot was on that list!  This amazes me!

It is so easy to believe that this was a mistake, an error in judgment.  He seemed ok on the surface, but little did anyone know that deep down he had the heart of a traitor.

The thing is, God did know.  And still it is who He had chosen.  Judas as one of the disciples wasn't a mistake.  It was an intentional choice.

Why?  I'm sure I don't know!  Maybe it is because someone had to be in a position to betray Jesus.  But that seems like too simple of an answer.  I really have no idea why God chose Judas, or how terribly hurt Jesus must have been when this man whom He loved and trusted turned on Him.

One thing I do know from this.  Appearances can be deceiving.  They were certainly deceiving when Jesus was choosing His disciples.  Most of us would have picked natural leaders, important people with good reputations, not tax collectors and fishermen.

But appearances can also be deceiving when we are looking back on events and second guessing ourselves.  If I were Jesus, I'd have wondered if I misunderstood what God wanted, if I made the wrong choice.  

I have a long history of second guessing myself.  I don't really doubt God, I do doubt my ability to correctly hear His word and follow His will.  I do my best but I feel so insecure, and when things go badly I'm convinced I blew it yet again.

But maybe...just maybe...in some of those situations, I got it right.  God doesn't always lead us in the direction that is the easiest.  He doesn't always put us in a place where everything turns out rosy and life is a breeze.  Too often, the right thing is hard, and it can even lead to pain.  

I have to remember not to judge by appearances.