Matthew 4:18-22
While walking by the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon (who is called Peter) and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea, for they were fishermen. And he said to them, “Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.” Immediately they left their nets and followed him. And going on from there he saw two other brothers, James the son of Zebedee and John his brother, in the boat with Zebedee their father, mending their nets, and he called them. Immediately they left the boat and their father and followed him.
In Jesus' days, fishing was a common job for the poor class of people, and the boats and nets necessary for the job could have been the only things owned by some poor fishermen. Among this class of Israelis were Peter, Andrew, James and John, so when Jesus said to them, "Follow me," what he was really asking was for them to leave everything behind. They didn't know where they would go, or what they would eat, but they dropped their nets and followed Him. That is radical Christianity right there! They left behind their security, their families, even the tools of their trade, and followed Jesus. Irrational service; utter devotion.
In America, we like to have a "balanced" life style; a little bit for me, a little bit for God, a little bit for the world. But God doesn't call us to be equal in our focuses. No, instead He calls us to be like these men who would literally give their everything to follow Jesus. That's what we need in America; radical Christianity. Not radical in the sense of violence, but instead a Christianity that is so ready to serve God that every ounce of our being is dedicated to the task; a Christianity ready to drop everything at the Lord's command.
We are not here on this earth to stay in our nice comfortable routine, fishing from our boats. We are meant to be courageous and forsake all for Christ; forgetting self and reaching for Him. I can already hear the calls, "But, but, that's just irrational! Giving up your entire career because some guy walks by and says to follow him?" When we're tempted to ask that question, let's remind ourselves that we aren't called to rationality, we are called to loyalty:
1 Corinthians 6:19-20
You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body.
It is only when we truly realize that we don't belong to ourselves that we can give our everything for the kingdom of Heaven, even if that giving is totally irrationally in the eyes of the world.
While walking by the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon (who is called Peter) and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea, for they were fishermen. And he said to them, “Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.” Immediately they left their nets and followed him. And going on from there he saw two other brothers, James the son of Zebedee and John his brother, in the boat with Zebedee their father, mending their nets, and he called them. Immediately they left the boat and their father and followed him.
In Jesus' days, fishing was a common job for the poor class of people, and the boats and nets necessary for the job could have been the only things owned by some poor fishermen. Among this class of Israelis were Peter, Andrew, James and John, so when Jesus said to them, "Follow me," what he was really asking was for them to leave everything behind. They didn't know where they would go, or what they would eat, but they dropped their nets and followed Him. That is radical Christianity right there! They left behind their security, their families, even the tools of their trade, and followed Jesus. Irrational service; utter devotion.
In America, we like to have a "balanced" life style; a little bit for me, a little bit for God, a little bit for the world. But God doesn't call us to be equal in our focuses. No, instead He calls us to be like these men who would literally give their everything to follow Jesus. That's what we need in America; radical Christianity. Not radical in the sense of violence, but instead a Christianity that is so ready to serve God that every ounce of our being is dedicated to the task; a Christianity ready to drop everything at the Lord's command.
We are not here on this earth to stay in our nice comfortable routine, fishing from our boats. We are meant to be courageous and forsake all for Christ; forgetting self and reaching for Him. I can already hear the calls, "But, but, that's just irrational! Giving up your entire career because some guy walks by and says to follow him?" When we're tempted to ask that question, let's remind ourselves that we aren't called to rationality, we are called to loyalty:
1 Corinthians 6:19-20
You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body.
It is only when we truly realize that we don't belong to ourselves that we can give our everything for the kingdom of Heaven, even if that giving is totally irrationally in the eyes of the world.