Be Like Andrew
The
best advertising slogans are short, catchy and memorable. For example, if you hear the phrase, “Have It
Your Way,” you know it’s a commercial for Burger King. If someone says, “When it absolutely,
positively has to be there overnight,” you know they’re talking about Federal
Express. Or how about this long-time
classic phrase: “It takes a licking and keeps on ticking?” Could only be
talking about a Timex, right?
By in
the 1990’s, Gatorade sold a lot of product with a three word phrase: “Be Like
Mike.” Yes, people who played basketball
and even those who didn’t play wanted to be like Michael Jordan. He was the most recognizable athlete in the
world. He had it all – fame, fortune,
acclaim. So Madison Avenue picked up on
this fan devotion and convinced us that if we drank Gatorade, ate McDonald’s
hamburgers, wore Hanes undershirts and used Ray-O- Vac batteries, we could be
like Mike.
While
many people have wanted to emulate him, there is only one Michael Jordan. In fact, I’m not sure that rich and famous
sports stars and celebrities are the kind of people that we should model our
lives after. While there are people like
Kurt Warner who are worthy of our admiration, most celebrities leave much to be
desired. However, in the first chapter
of John’s Gospel we find someone who sets a good example for us.
His
name is Andrew. This fellow is nothing
like Michael Jordan. Andrew isn’t rich
or famous. Just a humble fisherman,
really. But Andrew has a keen interest
in spiritual things. He wants to know
what God is like. He’s interested in
knowing the Christ. He wants to be sure
that there is a place for him in God’s Kingdom.
So
you can try to imagine how Andrew must have felt when he heard John the Baptist
say, “Behold, the Lamb of God.” It’s as
if John is saying, “There’s the one you need to follow. The Christ is here. God’s promise has been fulfilled. Go!” And off Andrew went and he spent the
rest of the day with Jesus.
Do
you remember what Andrew did next? The Scriptures tell us that the very first
thing Andrew did was find his brother, Simon.
Andrew had good news and he couldn’t wait to share it. “We have found the Messiah!” Andrew
exclaimed. And Andrew brought Simon to
Jesus.
No,
we can’t be like Michael Jordan. But we
can be like Andrew. We can tell others
about the love of Jesus for the world.
We can share with our friends following Christ is the best thing in the
world. We can tell the folks we work
with how God is always at work, changing us, and giving us a new life and a new
way of looking at things.
We can be like Andrew and invite those we love and care for to come to church with us. What a perfect way to introduce Jesus to another person. A person you really value could come with you and receive Jesus’ forgiveness and hear of His life and death and resurrection and begin to know and trust the Lord as their very own Savior from sin and death. What could be better than that! And it can happen. Pray about it. Ask the Lord for courage and faith so that you can be like Andrew.
