My Favorite Apostle

Who is your favorite apostle? Mine was the Rodney Dangerfield of the apostles. In Scripture the only references to him is that he was an apostle called James the Less. He is also called “the Minor”, “the Little”, “the Lesser”, or “the Younger” according to the translation. He and Matthew were two of three sets of brothers who were apostles.

There are no notable deeds or eloquent words attributed to him, just that he was an apostle, BUT he was an apostle. Knowing what the apostles were appointed to be and do makes him significant in a notable cause. For example, he was among the apostles who came back on a mission on which they were sent by Jesus and it is said that even demons were subject to them. James the Lesser was one of those.

Jesus saw their rejoicing and said, “…rejoice rather that your name is written in heaven.”

Alfred Adler, one of the founders of modern psychiatry, said one of a human being’s strongest urges is the desire to be significant. James the Lesser was satisfied with obscurity in order to help further a cause that was greater than he.

James the Lesser is proof there is room for lessers in the service of our Lord. He is an example of the fact you can’t have a greater without a lesser. You can’t have a book without a chapter, you can’t have a chapter without a paragraph, you can’t have a paragraph without a sentence, you can’t have a sentence without a word, and you can’t have a word without the letters of the alphabet. You can’t have a greater without a lesser. Whatever he did it was essential to the role of the apostles. He walked with giants, and was a companion of Jesus.

If you feel like you are a nobody, get over it. In reality there are no nobodies in the cause of Christ. Nobody? There stands the cross proving you really are somebody. Now get out there and fulfill the cause for which you were called. May you find fulfillment in your calling. You really do matter.