Going on from there,
he saw two other brothers, James son of Zebedee and his brother John. They were
in a boat with their father Zebedee, preparing their nets. Jesus called them,
and immediately they left the boat and their father and followed him.
Jesus stood before two men who were working and called for
them to follow him. These fishermen by trade immediately put down their work
and did just as they were told. After all, it was the true God standing before
them, in the flesh, calling them to stop working and come with him. So it makes
great sense that they would stop their work and do exactly as they were told.
But what about today? Are we as eager and willing to follow Jesus when he calls
us to do something? Of course, Jesus will not be standing in front of us as a
man calling us to a specific task like he did with Zebedee and John. But he is most
certainly still calling us. For some of us, the idea of stopping our work to
serve God in some manner might seem really hard to swallow, especially since
our work is what produces an income, which in turn allows us to provide for our
families. In our country today, work often takes the top spot…it becomes the
supreme priority, the uncompromised task that must be completed at all costs. We
will drive an hour one way to get to the office…we will make sure we are always
on time…we will even work when we are sick enough to spend the day sleeping in
bed. But what about when God calls us to do something? What about when God
calls us to counsel that colleague that drops by our desk in the afternoon and
starts unloading his bucket of problems? Do we stop our work, listen to the
person, offer words of encouragement and support…and maybe even pray for the
person? Probably not…because we have work to do, money to be made, deals to
close, and bottom lines to sign. Or what about on Sunday morning? Do we get up
early and make it a priority to make sure we are at church on time? Do we give time
to worship our God, study his Word, and speak with him in prayer as much
emphasis, attention and priority as we do our jobs? Unfortunately, the answer
is probably “no”. We fall short when it comes to following the Lord when he is
calling us. We dig up all kinds of excuses and reasons that we don’t have time
to read his Word, join in singing songs of praise to him, or even pray to him at
the end of each day. Thankfully, despite our distracted and slothful behavior, God
doesn’t grow tired of pursuing us. His pursuit for our time, energy, and
devotion remain strong with each new day, despite our failings and
shortcomings. He calls us to follow him into his mission field each day,
inviting us into opportunities to share his love, grace, and mercy with those
around us. All we have to do is listen…and follow. May we seek to follow the
Lord with the same urgency and discipline that those two fishermen did,
willingly and obediently following Jesus wherever he may lead. To God alone be
the glory!
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