Have you ever been sold on something that is too good to be true?

When I was first looking for a job out of college, I interviewed with several sales organizations. Like any new grad exploring a career in sales, the allure of making a lot of money quickly and easily captured me.

One company I interviewed with sold me on their process. They promised to set all my meetings for me with customers who were interested and qualified. All I had to do was show up and close the deal. Sounds good, but there were several red flags. Red flags that should have alerted me to the fact it wasn’t going to be as easy as they made it out to be.

The recruiter wouldn’t tell me much about the position. He just wanted me to attend the interview, which wasn’t an interview. It was their chance to sell me on a commission only position. The sales man did a great job because everyone in attendance was not only offered the job, but we all took it. A new pack of naive sales associates were ready to strike it rich.

Right then and there, I should have realized this job wasn’t as easy as they made it out to be, but I had to learn the hard way. A month later, no sales, a hundred dollars spent on gas, hundreds of miles traveled to worthless meetings with customers who were not interested or pre qualified, I threw in the towel. I realized everything they told me was a half truth. It had to be because no one would take the job. Deception was the trick up their sleeve.

Not so with Jesus. He doesn’t deceive His Disciples. He doesn’t sugar coat their mission. Jesus shoots them straight. He tells them exactly what to expect. He paints a picture of what will happen. The picture Jesus paints is not only reserved for the Twelve but for us as well.

Over the next three posts, we will take a look at Jesus’ painting. I’ll do that by answering three questions:

• (1) What can we expect when we take the gospel message to the world as a Disciple of Jesus?
• (2) Why would we want to be a Disciple of Jesus?
• (3) What do we need to know in order to be an effective witness as a Disciple of Jesus?

Looking Forward

Next time, I answer the first question: What can we expect when we take the gospel message to the world as a Disciple of Jesus?

Resource

Post adapted from my recent sermon: How Jesus’ Disciples Will Be Treated By The World