Years ago I did a study of the 12 disciples. It is staggering to think that out of all the people on the planet at that time, Jesus only chose twelve to be His disciples. But, what do we really know about those twelve?
One of the first disciples called to follow Jesus was a man we do not know much about. His name is Andrew. Andrew was the brother to the most known of all the disciples, Peter.
Andrew lived most of his life in his brother’s shadow. Peter was the clear leader of the twelve disciples and the one Jesus called to carry His baton to the early church. But, the disciple who often gets overlooked, the unsung hero in Peter’s life, was his brother Andrew. Andrew was special and used mightily of the Lord, but you have to look carefully to see his impact. If you were to look at John chapter one, you would see that Andrew was one of the first disciples to begin following Jesus. But, one of the first things Andrew did after he met Jesus, was to go and get his brother Peter and bring him to Jesus. Because of that, Peter became a changed man and was used tremendously by the Lord to see hundreds and thousands of people follow Christ throughout his ministry. Peter often gets all the attention because of his influence, but what is not to be missed is Andrew’s influence in Peter’s life.
Think about it, Peter may have never met the Lord had Andrew not first brought him to Jesus, but because of Andrew’s simple faithfulness, countless lives were and continue to be impacted. As far as we know, Andrew never preached to the masses or saw thousands come to Christ like his brother, but he did lead his brother to Christ, and that is not to be overlooked.
Many times, people who are like Andrew wish they were more like Peter. It is easy to want more of the spotlight and recognition for the things we do. Andrew was not like this, though. Andrew was content to be who God made him to be.
In fact, the few times we do see Andrew mentioned in the Bible, he is always seen bringing someone to Christ. One by one, Andrew was making a real difference in people’s lives.
Today, be an Andrew! Just be faithful right where you are. Be a positive influence right where God has placed you. Don’t try to be someone you are not. Don’t be jealous of others. Just be you! God has specially created you, He has plans for your life, and He can use you to do great things if you will just follow Him.
At the end of your life, you may not be known by thousands, but if you are known by God and have been faithful to Him, that is all that matters. Who will you impact today? See you next week!
