Matthew 4:18-25
“As Jesus was walking beside the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon called Peter and his brother Andrew. They were casting a net into the lake, for they were fishermen. ‘Come, follow me,’ Jesus said, ‘and I will send you out to fish for people.’ At once they left their nets and followed him. Going on from there, he saw two other brothers, James son of Zebedee and his brother John. They were in a boat with their father Zebedee, preparing their nets. Jesus called them, and immediately they left the boat and their father and followed him.”
There are times that we lose focus on what is most important in our lives. For the past week, I have been dealing with a sickness that would not leave my body. I was getting frustrated because I knew there were things that needed to get done, but I just couldn’t bring myself to do them. Life was throwing me curveballs that could have easily sidetracked me from what is most important, and as I look back I realize that this happens to us quite often. Sometimes we lose focus on what is most important in life.
It is not all the little things that add up on our plates, or all the “must dos” that we know we need to complete. Sometimes we need to sit back and look around and try to understand what it is God is telling us.
This time of being sick has taught me that we need to slow down and care for ourselves. Jesus taught us to be disciples and “fishers of men.” Being sick does not stop this process, but enhances it. During this time I had so many of our church family and friends reach out to ask what they could do to help. I had people step up and fill my roles on Sunday so that I could stay home and rest. This is what it means to be a true disciple of God.
This passage teaches us that Jesus called on the willing….those who are willing to step up and help those in need. Jesus is the one who calls…He is the one who initiates the discipleship process and tells us to follow Him. To follow Jesus doesn’t mean to walk behind Him, but to go the way He is going, do the things that He does, and to act the way He does. During the week, I would like you to contemplate “your” call to discipleship. Is it helping one who is sick and in need? Is it lending a hand or an ear? Is it stepping out of your comfort zone to help someone?
Take some time to think about what it means for you to follow Jesus, and compare that to what you read in Matthew 4:18-25. How do they compare? Are you a true disciple of God? What can you work on to improve what it means for you to be a disciple and a “fisher of men”?
