“Come, follow me, and I will show you how to fish for people” Jesus told the fishermen (Mark 1:17). This call of the Master was a major turning point. It began Simon and Andrew on their journey of learning from Jesus- both how to live, and how to “fish for people”.
Along their journey, Simon (later renamed Peter) and the other disciples had many high and low points. They saw the deaf hear, the blind healed, the dead raised. They saw five loaves and two fish feed five thousand. They saw their Master attacked and killed by the religious leaders of their day. At times their faith was high and at times it was low. There were also times when they were deeply saddened by their own personal failures to follow the Master well. The call of Jesus never changed though. He continued to call them... Follow me and fish for men.
After Jesus’ death and resurrection, in his discouragement, Simon Peter declares “I’m going fishing” (John 21). He went back to what he thought he knew how to do. He wasn’t very successful. He fished all night and caught nothing. Then Jesus showed up on the beach and told them to throw their net on the other side of the boat. Suddenly- lots of fish!
It’s easy for us to be distracted from these two primary callings. Our disappointment with ourselves, with others, lack of progress, or even our excitement about the miracles we see can cause us to forget the basics. Follow Jesus and Make Disciples. (fish for men, feed his sheep).
We must continually refocus our lives on these two things. It’s not about how many meetings we attend, or programs we run, or even how many church members attend our fellowships. Are we Following Jesus (doing the things He did and acting like Him?) Are we making true Disciples who also follow Him well? Disciples that both follow Him and also make more disciples?
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