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One would have expected Jesus to search for disciples in the synagogues and temples, where the learned and those who were knowledgeable of the scriptures were. It would seem like the logical and more reasonable choice. Why would Jesus want to reach out to lowly fishermen? One might think. What do they know? How will they be better than the Pharisees? But Jesus had other things in mind. Through choosing the disciples that He chose to follow Him, Jesus demonstrated the transformative effect the love of God can have on a person. We saw it in the way the disciples went from being laymen to Spirit-filled, Scripture-knowing men of God.When Jesus started out with the disciples they were a gangly bunch of young men who had their own sets of flaws and shortcomings. They often disagreed with one another and sometimes, they didn’t understand what Jesus was saying. They were a puzzling bunch to the Pharisees, Sadducees and scribes. But the disciples possessed on thing that the learned scholars did not have. They believed in what Jesus had to say. They became eager to learn and they never relied on their own self-righteousness. The disciples committed to leaving their secular lives behind in order to follow the way of Jesus.Jesus taught them. He corrected them. He encouraged them. He helped them grow in the knowledge of God. He was patient with them when they were ignorant. He wasn’t moved by their massive need to grow. The disciples weren’t pristine men when Jesus met them. Like I said, they were a gangly bunch of men. They were also very young.Their personalities were dynamic and sometimes they clashed. There were several occasions where Jesus had to rebuke them for arguing over trivial things. But it was also these disciples who recognized that Jesus Christ was the Messiah.As they walked with Jesus, they grew in understanding. Jesus loved them wholeheartedly – even after they abandoned him during his crucifixion. He restored them and reminded them of the mission ahead of them – to spread the gospel across the world.On the day of Pentecost, when the disciples were enabled by the Holy Spirit, we witnessed the full effect of their time with Christ.The men had come a very long way from the gangly adolescents they were when Jesus found them. They became the forerunners for the gospel, preaching in the face of opposition, and performing great signs and wonders.This is the power of the love of God. It is able to transform the most unlikely people into great men and women of God.