Thursday, September 16

As Jesus walked beside the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and his brother Andrew casting a net in to the lake, for they were fishermen. “Come, follow me,” Jesus said, “and I will make you fishers of men.” At once they left their nets and followed him.

When he had gone a little farther, he saw James son of Zebedee and his brother John in a boat, preparing their nets. Without delay he called them, and they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired men and followed him.


“At once they left their nets and followed him.”
“…and they left their father Zebedee in the boat …and followed him.” Mark 1:14-20

Just like that!
I’ve always wondered how and why these fishermen were so quick to climb out of their boats and follow Jesus. Yesterday we saw that part of the reason they responded this way was the sense of being “chosen” by Jesus. Today we will see that the second reason was that Jesus had not only called them to follow him – but he had also called them to a new and bold purpose!

“Come, follow me,” Jesus said, “and I will make you fishers of men.” At once they left their nets and followed him.

I have read that Steven Jobs, founder of Apple Computer, recruited John Scully, then an executive with Pepsi, by challenging him with the question, “Do you want to spend your career selling sugar-water – or do you want to change the world?” Scully left Pepsi and joined Apple. In a sense, that’s what Jesus does here. He asks, “Do you want to spend your life catching fish, or do you want to change the world by catching men?” Now that doesn’t mean that we all have to leave our jobs to become full-time evangelists or missionaries! It does mean that when Jesus calls, he calls us to invest our time, talents and treasures in his eternal Kingdom and for his eternal purposes. He calls us to make a difference in the world!

You may not think of yourself as a “world changer,” or even as a “person of influence,” but, then again, these four Galilean fishermen didn’t think of themselves that way either! Are you willing to allow Jesus to change the way you look at yourself and your life? Are you willing to step out of your comfort zone and allow Jesus to use you to make a difference?

Brian Coffey