As Jesus passed along the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and his brother Andrew casting a net into the lake—for they were fishermen. And Jesus said to them, “Follow me and I will make you fish for people.” And immediately they left their nets and followed him.
A guy comes by, promises to make you good at... what? Fishing for people? Sounds vaguely like human trafficking. You leave your job and family and follow him? We must be missing something.
Well, if we factor in the stories in John’s gospel, what we’re missing is that Jesus had already met Peter and Andrew. Andrew had already proclaimed him the “Real Thing,” and Jesus had already given Andrew’s brother Simon the nickname Petros, or Peter. All that had taken place by the Jordan River, where John was baptizing. Then Jesus went to Bethsaida, in Galilee, and started his mission proclaiming and demonstrating the power of God’s in-breaking realm. Now he comes to invite Peter and Andrew to take the next step – actually become part of his inner circle. And they do.
If this is the way it unfolded, there was more than one meeting, more than one invitation.This might encourage us if it takes us a few times to commit ourselves to following Jesus with our heart, mind, body and time.
When in your life have you been asked or challenged to commit yourself to following Jesus in a deeper way? How have you responded? Have you responded differently at one time than another?
What do you think “following Jesus” means for you? What is he asking of you? What is exciting about going deeper? What is scary or inconvenient or otherwise causes you to hesitate?
That day Jesus was passing by the Sea of Galilee. Another day he was passing by a tax collector’s booth. Today he might pass by the halls of your office building or on your way to the store, or sit down with you in your kitchen. So here's a prayer for today: “Open my spirit to see you, to hear your invitation. Open my heart to say ‘yes.’”
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