Welcome to Week 3 as we continue our study on the 12 disciples of Jesus. This week we will be looking at a few men of whom very little is known. One such man is James, Son of Alphaeus, also known as James the Less or James the Younger.
This is where our knowledge of James ends. Some traditions say that he was the brother of Matthew while others say he was the brother of Jude, but there is no real evidence for either belief. The truth is we don’t really need to know more about him, otherwise, God would have provided that information.
But here is what we do know. James stuck with Jesus when most of the other followers of Christ left. He loved and believed Jesus, and just like the more well-known disciples, received the outpouring of the Holy Spirit (Acts 2:1-4).
We also know that the inheritance that he received from God was glorious and beyond description. Some of the disciples were called to step onto a stage and into a spotlight, while others were called into a more normal and less known role. Jesus died for all of them and all of them were important to kingdom work and the advancement of the gospel.
This should be an encouragement to all of us. James the Less is less known to us but was not less known to the Father. So it is with all of us. We are loved by the Father, purchased by the Son, and indwelled by the Spirit. Our ability to glorify God is not increased by the size of our platform or the brightness of a spotlight. We don’t have to be well-known or accomplish jaw-dropping tasks for Jesus. We simply need to be faithful in the tasks that He sets out before us. We all have been given the same Holy Spirit that John and the rest of the disciples had. We have the same future promised to us and the same inheritance waiting for us.
Being more well-known does not make us more holy, nor is it a sign of a greater love that God has for us. We are eternally loved and created in Christ Jesus to love in return. Jesus makes us holy and our holiness glorifies God as it grows in even the most ordinary of lives.
We don’t know anything about James, the son of Alphaeus, but we do know that he was willing to leave it all behind in order to follow Jesus. He glorified God as much as Peter, and so can you… right where you are.
Looking To Jesus,