Morning Devotional

June 19, 2004

"The  Disciples (Part 9)"

by Don Emmitte

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Judas (not Judas Iscariot, but the other disciple with that name) said to him, "Lord, why are you going to reveal yourself only to us and not to the world at large?" Jesus replied, "All those who love me will do what I say. My Father will love them, and we will come to them and live with them. Anyone who doesn't love me will not do what I say. And remember, my words are not my own. This message is from the Father who sent me. I am telling you these things now while I am still with you. But when the Father sends the Counselor as my representative--and by the Counselor I mean the Holy Spirit--he will teach you everything and will remind you of everything I myself have told you. "I am leaving you with a gift--peace of mind and heart. And the peace I give isn't like the peace the world gives. So don't be troubled or afraid. (John 14:22-27 NLT).

Thaddaeus, also known here as Judas, was another lesser-known disciple. There are two things we do know about him that are worthy of our study. First, Thaddaeus, or Judas, was not Iscariot. This is not the betrayer of Christ. The disciples here want this to be known to all readers. Not that it really mattered otherwise.

Also, Thaddaeus is important for the question he asked. This was an important question Thaddaeus asked. Jesus probably would have answered even if the "other" Judas had asked it. The distinction between Judas Iscariot and Judas who was also Thaddaeus is made, because, since this passage was written after the betrayal, the writer wanted no one to confuse the two. Evidently Thaddaeus was a character whose reputation was worthy of protecting. Our reputation is very important. That reputation is a direct reflection of our character. When people hear your name they automatically associate it with the image they have been given of you either by their knowledge of you or what others have told them.

A number of years ago the Douglas Aircraft Company was competing with Boeing to sell Eastern Airlines its first big jets. War hero Eddie Rickenbacker, the head of Eastern Airlines, reportedly told Donald Douglas that the specifications and claims made by Douglas’s company for the DC-8 were close to Boeing’s on everything except noise suppression. Rickenbacker then gave Douglas one last chance to out-promise Boeing on this feature. After consulting with his engineers, Douglas reported that he didn’t feel he could make that promise. Rickenbacker replied, “I know you can’t, I just wanted to see if you were still honest.”

One of the greatest danger to our reputation is not the idle gossip of others, but our own failure to keep our promises. In the car business we call that “over-promising and under-delivering.” We train our employees to do just the opposite: under-promise and over-deliver! How’s your character? When people talk about you, what can they say good about your character? These are important questions!