"Come Follow Me"

Walking along the beach of Lake Galilee, Jesus saw two brothers: Simon (later called Peter) and Andrew. They were fishing, throwing their nets into the lake. It was their regular work. Jesus said to them, "Come with me. I'll make a new kind of fisherman out of you. I'll show you how to catch men and women instead of perch and bass." They didn't ask questions, but simply dropped their nets and followed.

 A short distance down the beach they came upon another pair of brothers, James and John, Zebedee's sons. These two were sitting in a boat with their father, Zebedee, mending their fishnets. Jesus made the same offer to them, and they were just as quick to follow, abandoning boat and father.  -Matthew 4:18-22 (The Message)


We want it to be so easy.  Sign up for a membership class. Memorize a couple of verses.  Learn a few good words like sanctification, justification and righteous indignation.  Get splashed, sprinkled or dunked.  Just go through the right process and you can get the stamp on your forehead- congratulations, you're a Christian!


Jesus had something else in mind.  Something much simpler, yet not nearly so easy.  Drop everything.  Leave behind everything you thought was important.  Follow Jesus.  No questions.  Just drop everything and and follow.  My heroes James & John (The Sons of Thunder!) left their boat and their dad and went with this strange man.  There was no ritual and no initiation.  It was all about following.


I've been writing about the Jesus Revolution since January 1, and maybe I've been making it more complex than it needs to be.  If we want our communities and our world to know the real Jesus, we need to do these three things every single day- Follow, Love and Forgive.  These things will set up apart from this world.  They will identify us as Christ-followers.  And they will turn people on to the radical, ridiculous love of Jesus.  It's simple.  But it's not easy. Because it requires that you give everything.  Think about these questions and see what might be standing in your way...
Questions:
1)  Is Christianity a label or a lifestyle for you?
2)  James and John left everything, including their father, to go with Jesus.  What are you hanging on to that is keeping you from being a fully devoted follower of Christ?  Will you follow where He leads without questioning where you are going?
3)  Are you a "new kind of fisherman?"  Who are the people in your life that need to meet Jesus?


Jesus is calling us to follow.  If we drop our "nets" and leave our "boats" then the revolution will truly be unstoppable!  Have a blessed day.


Because of Jesus,