Jesus doesn’t extinguish our thunder; He sanctifies it for the calling we have received.
“James the son of Zebedee and John the brother of James, to whom He gave the name Boanerges, that is, ‘Sons of Thunder’” - Mark 3:17 NKJV.
The Sons of Thunder carried rich personalities and would often need to be redirected by Jesus for His purposes. It is through James and John that we see Jesus demonstrate discipleship, forming them according to their unique needs over time.
“And when His disciples James and John saw this, they said, ‘Lord, do You want us to command fire to come down from heaven and consume them, just as Elijah did?’” - Luke 9:54 NKJV.
Jesus knew, as the Samaritan village refused Him, that James and John were distressed and did not fully understand His character. He understood their passion and corrected them: “But He turned and rebuked them, and said, ‘You do not know what manner of spirit you are of.’” - Luke 9:55 NKJV.
While James and John believed that they were defending Jesus, He revealed that their response did not resemble His Spirit. They knew the way Elijah had acted but had not discerned the will Jesus had in that moment.
While Jesus corrected them, He did not reject or remove them from among His apostles, nor did their intensity deem them unusable among the people Jesus was ministering to.
Sanctification is part of the work that the Holy Ghost performs within us; we are confronted with what has been destructive without being stripped of the personality God has given us.
While there will be many people in this day and age who will misunderstand what Jesus has formed within us, it is not permission to respond from a place of pride while calling it righteous zeal. James and John were offended; Jesus did not require their vengeance.
Jesus does not silence the thunder within us; through the Holy Ghost, He teaches our thunder to sound like love. The disciple who once asked for fire from Heaven over the village later wrote: “Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God.” - 1 John 4:7 NKJV.
We are not empty or dull personalities tasked with mindlessly following Jesus. He calls us to surrender every passion and intensity to Him so that He can work within us without restriction. What was once an offence may instead reveal the character of Jesus as He reveals Himself to us.
May our thunder no longer announce the pride or vengeance that once consumed us, but instead be formed by the One who has called us His sons and daughters.
Blessings,
[Emp.](https://www.facebook.com/dgjamesh?__cft__\[0\]=AZYqW9yizz3YthzGrKaBAmTedbydH20Ss4TJcBNjCT919rOXuLsSN6QktNpt98g84omEDatEqULf_Syeu_5lN_-GDFbPa78AgmeTQlDLHwI28jhRXmyeuVqVgrU8d0UUkTYj7jQK-PfibeK5GsZSChBj&__tn__=-\]K-R)
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