The Ordinary People

It is easy for us as Christians to look at people like John Piper, John MaCarthur, David Platt, and the apostles Paul and Peter with awe and say that we could never be like them, but the Bible uses ordinary people to make important differences.  The apostle Andrew is an example of one of these ordinary people used by God.

Even though he was a member of the inner group of disciples composed of James, John, Peter and Andrew; after introducing his brother Peter to Jesus, he quickly faded into the background.  He is only mentioned three other times, but each of these instances places an emphasis on a different aspect of his character and his faith in Jesus. Andrew originally was a disciple of John the Baptist.  In John chapter 1, he runs and tells his brother, Simon Peter, that he found the Messiah, and brought his brother to Jesus.  From that point on, it was Peter who was the prominent one.  Andrew knew full well that his brother would probably take over still shared the special moment of finding the Messiah with his brother.

The next time we see Andrew in the Gospels is in John 6 at the feeding of the five thousand.  It was Andrew who mentioned that there was a lad with five barley loaves and two fish.  Even though he didn't think it was significant, he did mention it to Jesus.  Of all the things John could have written about in this episode, he chose to write about Andrew and Philip.  While Philip thought the situation was hopeless, Andrew showed some optimism.

In John 12, we again see Andrew and Philip.  Philip approached Andrew about the fact that there were some Greeks who wanted to see Jesus.  Andrew and Philip went and told Jesus.  It is interesting here to note that it was Andrew of the inner group who appears to be approachable and takes initiative.  Just as he recognized that Jesus was the Messiah and told his brother, he was also enthusiastic to bring others to Jesus.

Even though he was not in the spotlight, he still could be seen as a figure significant enough to be written about in the Bible.  The ordinary, everyday Christian today also does not have to be in the spotlight to be seen by God as a significant person to carry out His work on earth.  Remember that a kind word spoken here or an action taken there may not seem significant to you, but it could be very significant to the person on the receiving end or even by a person just watching.  It was Andrew who merely mentioned the five loaves and two fish that belonged to the boy and look what Jesus did with that.  He fed five thousand men plus the women and children who were present.