Passing alongside the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and Andrew the brother
of Simon casting a net into the sea, for they were fishermen. 17 And
Jesus said to them, “Follow me, and I will make you become fishers of
men.” 18 And immediately they left their nets and followed
him. 19 And going on a little farther, he saw James the son of
Zebedee and John his brother, who were in their boat mending the
nets. 20 And immediately he called them, and they left their father
Zebedee in the boat with the hired servants and followed him.” Mark
1:16-20
The scriptures don’t usually get into the minds
of the new disciples as Jesus calls them to be his followers. What we see are
men working their livelihood, day in and day out, casting nets into the sea.
They are making a living doing the work they expect to be doing for the rest of
their lives. It is likely the same work that their fathers have done (such as
Zebedee, in the story above), and their grandfathers before them.
Even today, Jesus has a way of shaking us out of
the skin we’ve wrapped around our life, and our future, calling us to be more
than we think we can or should be. He has a way of breaking the stereotypes
society labels us with. The men in the above verse were common laborers. They
were rough around the edges, probably didn’t use the nicest words when they
fought with their nets on the water. In contrast, religious leaders of the time
were trained in the social niceties. They dressed in fine robes and used
perfumes. Everyone had their place in the day’s culture.
Our culture is not always God’s culture,
however, as much as we try to blend the two. Throughout Jesus’ ministry and
beyond, He turns our expectations inside out. As He calls Simon (later named
Peter) from his boat and away from the life he’s always known and expected, so,
too Jesus also calls us. When this happens, how do we react? Throughout the
Bible, both Old and New Testaments, we see how God uses everyone, big and
small, for His purposes. When this happens, there is often pushback. Moses
complains that he can’t talk to Pharaoh because of a speech problem. Gideon is
told to lead an army to defeat Israel’s enemies and spends an inordinate amount
of time asking for proof that the request actually came from God. The point,
always, is that the work being done, the miracles and wonders, will not done by
them, but by Him. God chooses to accomplish His
work, however, through people like you and I.
There is nothing we cannot do, if God is the One
doing it through us. There is no word we cannot speak, if we are speaking in
the Spirit. There is no level of generosity, kindness or forgiveness we cannot
offer if we let Jesus do the offering through us. Does God call us to follow
Him because we are perfect? Yes, but not by our standards. The enemy will tell
us we are not, that we are unskilled, ineloquent, too short or too poor or too
weak to be a disciple of Jesus. But throughout Scripture the Lord tells us we are.
In spite of our perceived imperfections, we are perfect for the work God calls
for us to do, because in the end, He is the one doing it.
Pray
Father, thank you so much for seeing me as perfect for the job you called
me to do, even if I do not see it myself. Through your Spirit let me see myself
as You see me, one called by Jesus for His work on this Earth.
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