SCRIPTURE: Mark 1:14-20
OBSERVATION:
Starts with the high cost of serving Jesus – John the Baptist is thrown in prison, and ultimately dies (Matthew 14:1-12) – this shows that Jesus’ message of good news is not easy news, it comes with high cost.
The call to follow Jesus leads Peter, James and John to leave: their work, their family business, their family – how did their families react?
‘Fishers of men’ shows Jesus’ primary purpose, to bring people back to God.
APPLICATION:
Am I prepared to pay the high cost of following Jesus, even if it affects my work and family life?
Am I prepared to pay the ultimate cost of my life for serving Jesus?
Where is Jesus calling me to serve Him, to use my skills (fishermen) for Him (fishers of men)?
Is our primary purpose as a church (or as leaders in church programs) to ‘catch’ people for Jesus – or is it to grow the church?
PRAYER:
Lord, am I trying to hold on to the things of this world, and only partially follow You? If You came to me like You did these others, would I have left everything to follow You? Help me to look at where my heart is, and to be honest with You about it. Amen.
I think we all, as Christians, need to be preparing ourselves to drop everything to go with God. At some point in our lives, I believe all of us will lose something or have to leave our place to follow God’s Will. I agree that it is “easier said than done”, but because I think about how I would have reacted at Columbine, or if I were in danger because of following Christ, it would be much easier for me to do now than earlier in my life. I can’t imagine the posibilites we could accomplish if we all were as eager as James and John to drop our nets without delay and follow Christ. I also have to say though, it would be much tougher for me to leave my father in a boat to follow God, but we should all be preparing to drop everything.
The preparation of the gospel was first made by John the Baptist and now Jesus has started to speak publicly the gospel. By the time Jesus came to Simeon, Andrew, James and John, a decision was needed to be made. These men responded to Jesus’ call immediately. The soil of their hearts were obviously prepared – perhaps they had gone out to see and hear John the Baptist beforehand and were baptised? They were not perfect yet, but Jesus called them anyways. But somehow they were ready to trust and respond to Jesus when He called them.
Prayer: Lord, am I ready today to drop what I am doing and respond to a call from You to be a “fisher of men” or perhaps in my own context a “coach of faith” rather than just being a coach of basketball. Help me to have ears to hear Your calling and I pray that my heart will be ready to respond immediately!