Dietrich Bonhoeffer once said: “When Christ calls a man, he bids him come and die.” This is the life to which Jesus called the crowds and then his disciples when he began his ministry. First, he called them to faith. Then, he called them to vocation. Both calls require cross-bearing. Both calls require dying to self and rising in Christ to live. God help us drop our nets to follow him this year. (Mark 1:14-20)