Make Questionable Investments

Think about the inner circle of disciples that Jesus kept close to him.  These three disciples seemed to have a little greater investment from Jesus.  These were invited to special moments in Jesus life.  They were invited to an inner room to see a girl raised to life, invited to the mount of transfiguration and invited to a closer location to Jesus at Gethsemane to name a few.

Peter: 
Very active in the book of Acts.
A leader in the early church.
Assisted Mark in his gospel.
Wrote two epistles.

John:
The disciple Jesus loved.
Active in the book of  Acts.
Wrote one gospel, three epistles and Revelation.

James:
Listed as a disciple in Acts 1.
Killed by Herod in Acts 12.

If Jesus knew James' end, why did he invest so much in a disciple who would be martyred so early in the spreading of the church and is not mentioned often?  What was God's plan for James?  What kinds of things did he accomplish in the life of his brother John that we can only infer?  What was the purpose of his close connection to Jesus in the inner circle of the twelve if his life was snuffed out in a surprisingly premature way.  We may never know this side of heaven.

When I find a nugget like this in the Bible, I always ask, "How do I apply the principals of this situation in the Bible to my life?"  Here are some possible answers.  One, investment in people is not based on what they will produce later.  People matter, because people matter.  Two, investment in people has a depth factor that may not be noticed in the big public events and news items.  Depth of impact and affect matters.  Three, there are a lot of people in your life that need your investment regardless of their potential to produce statistically noticeable fruit.  Four, invest in people because the Father leads you to do it.  Leave all the results up to God and know that you obeyed his call to serve.  Only God knows the depth of impact you will make, and you will not face the future regret of "what if I had done something?"  Someone will always question the wisdom of your investment when it does not produce according to their assumptions.  Lastly, Always learn from the examples of how Jesus made disciples.