Reflection

Yesterday we landed on seeing how being part of the kingdom means repenting and giving our lives completely over to King Jesus. Today, we see four men doing exactly that! We aren’t given any background to who these men are. We aren’t told that they had heard Jesus preach yet. We aren’t even told about their beliefs at this time! But we are told exactly what they did. They left everything to follow Jesus.

Jesus was walking beside the lake and saw two men fishing. There wasn’t a great inspiring speech and there wasn’t any music playing, but he simply says, ‘Come, follow me.’ It can be easy to overcomplicate Christianity and our discipleship, but this is the crux and the heart of our relationship with God. Follow Jesus. Follow Jesus with all that we are and all that we have, and he will completely transform our lives. Jesus tells Simon and Andrew that he will make them fish for people. This is another way of saying that he will transform their lives and their purpose of their lives.

They were once fishing for fish, providing temporary food, temporary relief from hunger, and keeping people going in their temporary lives. However, Jesus is going to send them to fish for people and bring them to him. This will be eternal food, eternal relief from hunger, and Jesus will provide eternal life. Their response? They left everything they had and followed him, as did James and John. They turned their lives from their own livelihood to live for King Jesus. They left all that they had behind for Jesus. Our call is to do the same and be part of Jesus’ everlasting, never ending Kingdom. Jesus has called us to repent and believe, he has made a way to the Father and brings in a transformed life now and everlasting life to come. MC

Questions

Prayer

Lord God, thank you for the model of the disciples in following Jesus. Help us not to overcomplicate our relationship with you but to follow you with all that we are and all that we have. In Jesus’ name, Amen.