LIVING WATERS
For the proclamation of the Gospel and the edification of the Body of Christ
To Be With Him
In Mark's gospel we are shown a detail not recorded in the other three gospels regarding the choice of the twelve apostles: "And he appointed twelve, that they might be with him, and that he might send them out to preach" (3:14). The expression that calls our attention is: “that they might be with him”.
This phrase contains the first great vocation of every apostle and every worker of the Lord: "To be with him". There is not here an invitation to study, nor to still carry out a certain work, but to be with a Person. How many things will it have meant to those apostles? We can't know. But there is a sign in this that suggests, at least, contemplation, communion and transformation.
"Being with him" is the beginning of everything, it is the source and engine of all God's work. Man's condition is too vile for him to start anything from himself. He could not, based on his own vision, resources and initiatives, undertake something for God. It is necessary for him to enter the secret place to behold God. Then, from that contemplation, communion will emerge. There will be listening, learning, adoring, and it is even possible that a "friendship" will finally emerge, a term that, in the case of God, may even seem sacrilegious, but it is possible, and it is the highest a man can aspire to.
How could anyone dare to go preach without first having been "with him"? How can anyone dare to do the work without first being sent? The Lord Jesus did not send his disciples to preach without having had them with him for some time. This explains why so much work is done that God did not command to do; that is why there are so many workers who do not know the model of God's work.
“Being with him” is not only a demand for those who aspire to serve him, but a privilege to which many are still called today. Just like yesterday, he still keeps calling those who want to listen, to be with him. Then if they can just sit still for a while, sitting at his feet, disregarding everything else to hear him, then he can send them out, in his own time, to do exactly what he wants, and nothing more.