As evening approached, there came a rich man from Arimathea, named Joseph, who had himself become a disciple of Jesus. (Matt. 27:57)

A small church in Kentucky took pride in serving as a training ground for seminary students ministering in their first pastorate. A candidate sat facing the church’s committee tasked with finding its next pastor. One committee member mentioned some of the former pastors who had gone on to serve in prominent capacities. One had become president of a seminary and pastor of a large city church. Another had also become a seminary president. A third had served as president of two denominational conventions and an international alliance.

The astonished candidate asked, “How in the world did you find that many potentially great men in this little church?”

“Find them?” said the committee member. “We didn’t find them. We made them!”

Disciples of Christ are not born mature. They develop. Someone pours life into them, and they grow.

Joseph of Arimathea became a disciple of Jesus. He began to recognize that Jesus was the way, the truth, and the life, and adequate for every human need. Joseph already knew that he was inadequate in his own strength. In time, like other disciples, he found the Holy Spirit’s power could replace weakness with the fullness of Christ.

When this happens, as Dennis Kinlaw said, “We begin to think differently; we have different emotions; our entire outlook is changed.”

Is this happening to you as a growing disciple?

List the ways you have seen Christ be adequate for your needs.

Ron McClung lives in Fishers, Indiana, with his wife Carol. He has written his weekly column, Positive Perspective, for more than thirty years.

© 2019 Wesleyan Publishing House. Reprinted from Light from the Word. Used by permission.