Scripture: Mark 1:16-20 "As Jesus walked beside the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and his brother Andrew casting a net into 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."
Observation: We see Jesus begin the process of selecting the guys who will become his disciples. It seems as if Jesus is just walking along and asks the first people he saw. What was it about Simon and Andrew that prompted an invitation from Jesus? What was it about James and John? Was it their work ethic? Did they already know Jesus and have a friendship with him? This scripture doesn't tell us why he chose them, but it does show us their response to Jesus' invitation. All four men immediately left what they were doing and followed him. They didn't ask questions. They didn't consult their family. They didn't say, "I need to pray about it." These aren't bad things to do, but I sometimes use these as an excuse to buy more time. These men were so eager to follow Jesus that they literally dropped what they were doing and followed Jesus.
Application: As much as I try to convince myself that I am willing to do whatever God asks of me, I know that i quickly become hesitant when these promptings arise. I need time to process things. I need to talk to someone else and bounce it off of them. Again, this isn't always foolish, but how often do I use it as an excuse. What would my life be like if I would respond like these first disciples? Would I reduce some of the stress I put on myself from worrying about decisions? Would my faith increase the more I put it to use (I think I know the answer to that!)? I desire to increase my faith and my eagerness to do what God has asked of me.
Prayer: God, I long to deepen my faith and rely on my faith rather than on my thoughts and my feelings. Help me to put my faith into practice. Thank you for never giving up on me and for your persistence in nudging me to grow in my relationship with you. Thank you for loving me and accepting me as one of your children.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Posts
2 comments:
In today's reading to finish the first chapter of Mark, I have a question regarding the message to us, present day, of Christ urging the former leper to not tell anyone about his healing. I can understand that Christ wanted the people to know his message and not just see him as the roaming medicine man. However, today, is there a message that we are to hear regarding Christ's insistence on anonymity?
Another possible reason Jesus warned not to tell anyone was to avoid being killed prematurely. As far as a message for us today, I do not see the message he gave to the leper, or others, to keep quite carrying over to us. In fact, Jesus teaches that we are the light of the world. We are to live in a way that others will see Christ in us. In Philippians we are told to live in such a way that we shine like stars in the universe. Christ's mission on the earth has been complete and we have been entrusted with the task of sharing his life and work with those around us (Matthew 28:19-20). Thoughts?
Post a Comment