Mark 1:16-20 “As Jesus walked beside the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and his brother Andrew casting a net into the lake, for they were fishermen. 17 "Come, follow me," Jesus said, "and I will make you fishers of men." 18 At once they left their nets and followed him. 19 When he had gone a little farther, he saw James son of Zebedee and his brother John in a boat, preparing their nets. 20 Without delay he called them, and they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired men and followed him.”
When Jesus calls you, how what kind of answer do you give? This brief passage is a portrait of a whole hearted response. Jesus sees these four young men, each fully invested in the pursuits of their life, each faithfully laboring in the midst of their routine. They are used to hard work. They have been seasoned by the rugged life of a Galilean fisherman. They have family ties to their work and they are financially bonded to these family businesses with a sense of the family inheritance that is connected to their work. It is in the midst of this predictable and demanding life that the call of Jesus Christ imposes itself upon their lives.
Jesus sets his eyes on these quality young people and suddenly their lives are disrupted by the call of God. They don’t know the impact of their decision to follow. None of them can predict the full measure of the consequences associated with this decision. But each one of them lays down the life they have always known with an immediacy that is startling and follows the call of God. There was no warning. There was no dream in the night that is ever indicated as this moment of costly decision is thrust upon these men. “Follow me… now!” And their lives are changed forever!
Jesus calls these young men on a journey of personal transformation; “follow me and I will make you…” something you are not! Are you prepared to follow with the absoluteness that these four young men demonstrated? Can you quickly separate yourself from the entanglements of your busy life when Jesus passes by? This is the miracle of these verses. Jesus looked into the hearts of these young men and saw people who would say yes! Consider the rich young ruler in Mt. 19:16-21. He was given the same invitation to follow. Jesus saw the quality of his holiness but this young man’s attachment to his natural life was greater than his hunger to follow. Instead of laying everything down with the same fullness that the four fishermen demonstrated, the greatness of his wealth became the prison that separated him from complete surrender to the calling of God.
What is it that you cannot let go of? After witnessing this inner conflict in the life of this young ruler Peter inquires of the Lord. “We have left all to follow you,” he says, wondering what is in store for them with the standard of God being set so high in response to the disappointing response of the young ruler. Jesus comforts Peter in his confusion by affirming the reward that awaits an abandoned life. Truly the cost of following is high but the reward is also great. In Luke 18:29-30 “Jesus said to them, "no one who has left home or wife or brothers or parents or children for the sake of the kingdom of God 30 will fail to receive many times as much in this age and, in the age to come, eternal life." Remember this when Jesus passes by your life. Remember this when the call to follow comes. Remember this when sorrow over what must be left behind tempts you to stay in the comfortable routine of what you have always known. In that moment, count the cost and follow. In the end it will be worth it all!!!!!
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