Mark 1:16-18

One day as Jesus was walking along the shore of the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and his brother Andrew throwing a net into the water, for they fished for a living. Jesus called out to them, “Come, follow me, and I will show you how to fish for people!” And they left their nets at once and followed him.

I will never forget the first time I saw the Sea of Galilee. I was with a friend and we had been travelling for a couple of hours up the Jordan valley. It was incredibly hot and our little car didn’t have the blessing of air conditioning. We greeted our first glimpse of the lake with great excitement and, as we saw it, it was so easy to imagine Jesus walking along beside it, coming to a couple of fishermen and inviting them to follow him. The truly incredible thing is that nothing has changed. Two thousand years ago, Jesus invited people to follow him, and he still does!

It's the personal nature of Christianity that makes it so different from other religions and philosophies. Religions normally have a set of beliefs and rules that you have to subscribe to, and then you’re a member, but for Christians, it’s all about a person, and living a life that follows and pleases him. Life is instantly redefined when you follow Jesus. Nothing looks the same. Someone once described the difference as being like seeing life in colour after only seeing it in black and white.

I find it fascinating that as soon as Jesus invited the fishermen to follow him, he gave them a job. You might have thought that Jesus would have given them a while to get to know him and understand his teaching first, but no – following Jesus always involves finding others to follow him. And that’s the way Jesus’ earthly ministry concluded as well. When Jesus ascended to his Father in heaven he commanded his followers to make disciples of all nations.

Whatever you are doing today Jesus says two things to you. He invites you to follow him and asks you to recruit other followers as well.

Question

Who might you be able to encourage to follow Jesus today?

Prayer

Lord Jesus Christ, thank you for inviting me to follow you. Help me to follow you more closely each day and to encourage others to do the same. Amen