Follow Him

¹⁶As 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." ¹⁸At once they left their nets and followed him.

¹⁹When he had gone a little farther, he saw James son of Zebedee and his brother John in a boat, preparing their nets. ²⁰Without delay he called them, and they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired men and followed him.

Mark 1: 16-19

Simon, Andrew, James, and John were ordinary men doing their ordinary jobs when Jesus showed up. They were fishing. This is how they made their living and how they spent most of their days. Suddenly, Jesus shows up and asks them to leave their nets and follow Him. And, they did just that.

Jesus told the men that they would now be "fishers of men." Jesus asked them to lay aside their earthly status, their form of making money, their way of life and to instead invest what time they had into heavenly things. He asked them to start fishing for the hearts of men and leading them to Him.

When I think about the lives of the disciples, a few important things come to my mind. First, the life He led them to was much more exciting and important than the one He took them away from, although I am sure they didn't know that at the time they made the decision. Second, going on this journey changed them more than the people whom they were going to help. At some point, people began to recognize the disciples simply because they had "been with Jesus." Finally, everything they saw, did, and accomplished was only done through Jesus and by Jesus through them. They allowed Him to use them, and by simply being willing, God's will was accomplished in the Earth for that period of time.

Speaking of God's will, keep in mind that the disciples also did not understand why they did everything they did. They didn't always know what Jesus was "up to" at times, but they obeyed, and I am sure Jesus smiled when they finally said, "Oh, I see."

What is God asking you to do? Simply follow Him and obey. That is all He asks. He will take care of the rest.