“And (Jesus) said unto (Andrew and Peter), follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.”
This is Jesus call to His first disciples, Andrew and Peter. According to John’s gospel, Andrew had been a disciple of John the Baptist, and when John the Baptist showed Jesus to him, he followed Jesus and went and found his brother Peter, who also became a follower. This was their formal call to “become fishers of men.” They didn’t realize it at the time, but Jesus was calling them to a lifetime opportunity to serve Him. He still gives the opportunity to people today. When we accept His call to become Christians, we accept the opportunity to serve Jesus and to “fish for men.” We need to see it as the opportunity that it is, and actually follow Jesus and invite people to Jesus – which is what “fishing for men” is. It is a tremendous opportunity because it is a call to follow Jesus. We are all going to follow something or someone. Some people follow their own inclinations and follow only what, or who, they want to follow. For example, some people seem to substitute sports for Jesus. Of course, there is nothing wrong with enjoying sports and pulling for your team, but when it consumes your life it has gone too far. I certainly have my “druthers” when it comes to ball teams, and I really want them to win, but my whole life doesn’t depend on it. Jesus is “the lamb slain from the foundation of the world.” This means that it was decided back beyond eternity that Jesus would come, live a perfect life, die on the cross for our sins, rise from the dead, ascend to the Father, intercede for us and come again to receive us. It is not just an opportunity to follow Jesus; it is an honor to follow Him and serve Him. He wants you to follow Him. If you aren’t already following Him, surrender to Him now. It is a tremendous opportunity because of His involvement in our lives. Notice that Jesus said, “I will make you fishers of men.” This means that when we make the decision to follow Jesus, He becomes involved intimately in our lives. It’s not just an invitation to follow Jesus on our own. Part of His “making” us fishers of men is sending the Holy Spirit to live in our lives to empower us for witness and to guide us into truth. Becoming a follower of Jesus is not a shallow thing. Being “fishers of men” is not a shallow thing. Jesus wants to use us to do His work on this earth, just as He did for Andrew and Peter. You can follow Peter’s life after he became a follower of Jesus, and see that Jesus, and serving Him, took over his life. Following Jesus is a tremendous opportunity because it is a call to become involved in the lives of other people. When we fish for people, we do not do it without having to become involved in their lives. Just as Jesus does not call us to follow Him and then dump us, we do not lead people to Jesus and forget about them. We invite them into fellowship with us and the fellowship of our church, where we will be involved in their lives as they grow in discipleship. Have you accepted Jesus call to follow Him and become a “fisher of men”? Bro. Joe
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AuthorDr. Joe Beauchamp is the author of this blog and website. Categories
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September 2021
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