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In all wisdom and insight, He has made known to us the mystery of His will in accord with His favor

Today Jesus sends out His twelve Apostles, who at the time were still disciples (they were learning, not teaching). They were to go to every village and town and proclaim repentance for forgiveness of sins as well as the immanence of the Kingdom which was at hand. They were also empowered to heal.

Indeed, this experience was a learning. Today we would call it on-the-job training. Overall, the disciples learning was concentrated on internal discovery as to whether they would trust in God or not. That is why they were instructed to take nothing, to go forth with courage and determination. That is why they were told to also hold responsible those they encountered.

For ten or so days I have worked with young people who were learners. Certainly, some were open to learning, others were not. We spent our time documenting our gifts, those received, those given, those we have in us, and those that will grow in us as time progresses.

As we covered the gifts yet to grow in us, we discussed how they might be built up. That takes recognizing them and then practicing with them – on the job training. We talked about making our gifts bigger, better, and how we might add unto them. Finally, we spoke about taking those gifts and wrapping them up to make them really beautiful. This is what Jesus did with His disciples. He knew what they had in them, and He wanted it to grow. This is also what Jesus wants from us.

Brothers and sisters, for us it starts with recognizing what Jesus wants from us and the gifts He has instilled in us to make His requirements come to reality. It is no more than this: That we proclaim the Kingdom to those we encounter. 

Our on-the-job training is to find the gift God has given us then grow it and use it. The gifts we have are specifically for building His Kingdom.

Of course, trust is required, but an amazing thing that happened to the disciples and will happen to us is that we will be successful in doing Jesus’ work.

It is simple: Do you know Jesus? I do and He has done remarkable things in my life. Do you have a church? No, then I know a great one where you can get to know Jesus. 

The words and actions and gifts must be our own, the trust must be ours, and the work and learning, the OJT, must be how Jesus intends it to be.

Today and every day I will use my God given gifts to show His Kingdom. Then I will watch and see people entering the Kingdom, also sharing their gifts and rejoice!