How the Story of the Twelve Disciples Has Shaped My Own Journey

A continuation from blog post: One Mission: Many Stories

I never expected the twelve disciples to impact my life the way they have. For years, they were just names on a page — familiar, but distant. But when I began to look closely at who they were, something in me changed. These weren’t flawless spiritual giants. They were ordinary men with ordinary struggles, yet Jesus called them anyway.

When I read how Jesus walked by the Sea of Galilee and said to Peter and Andrew, “Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men” (Matthew 4:19 KJV), it struck me that He didn’t choose them because they were already qualified. He chose them because He saw what they could become. That truth began to soften the pressure I’d always felt to “have it all together.”

Peter’s boldness, Matthew’s past as a tax collector, Thomas’s doubts — none of it pushed Jesus away. Matthew himself records Jesus calling him while he was still sitting at the receipt of custom (Matthew 9:9 KJV). That moment reminds me that Christ meets us where we are, not where we think we should be.

Even the presence of Simon the Zealot amazes me. A man once driven by political passion now walking alongside Matthew, who had worked for Rome. Only Jesus could unite people like that. It echoes His prayer for His followers: “that they all may be one” (John 17:21 KJV). Their unity wasn’t built on sameness — it was built on surrender.

Seeing their diversity has helped me embrace my own background. For a long time, I felt like my past disqualified me. But the disciples remind me that Jesus doesn’t erase our stories; He redeems them. Paul later wrote, “God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise” (1 Corinthians 1:27 KJV), and I see that truth reflected in the disciples’ lives — and in mine.

Their failures also give me hope. Peter sinking in the water (Matthew 14:30 KJV), Thomas needing to see the wounds (John 20:25 KJV), the disciples arguing about who was greatest (Luke 22:24 KJV) — they were learning, stumbling, growing. And Jesus never gave up on them. That has helped me trust that He won’t give up on me either.

What impacts me most is how their differences became strengths once they surrendered to Christ. Fishermen who knew teamwork. A tax collector who understood details. A zealot whose passion was redirected. It reminds me of Paul’s words: “For the body is not one member, but many” (1 Corinthians 12:14 KJV). God uses our differences to build something bigger than any of us could build alone.

The disciples’ story has reshaped how I see myself, how I see others, and how I see the calling of Christ. Their lives remind me that following Jesus isn’t about perfection — it’s about willingness. It’s about hearing His voice, just as they did, and choosing to rise, leave our nets behind, and walk with Him (Matthew 4:20 KJV).

And that truth continues to change me.

Discovering the Path of Salvation