To Encourage You

Matthew 4:19 “Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.”

It is difficult to put into words the glorious calling of God to those who know Him.  The common fishermen to whom Jesus spoke the words above could have never dreamed what their lives would entail should they heed the invitation of the Son of God. Here was the Creator of the universe calling the men whom He had created to follow Him.  His was the highest calling to which anyone had ever been called, i.e., “to seek and to save the lost” (Luke 19:10).  This was the highest calling and the greatest act of love that the world has ever known, yet Jesus was inviting common laborers to join Him in it. 

These were not men of high position. They weren’t kings and princes. They weren’t wealthy. They weren’t the movers and the shakers, nor did they ever dream that they would be. No, they were common folk, just like you and me.  Yet the glorious, infinite, all powerful God was inviting them to follow Him as He did His divine work in this world.  He told them that rather than be fishers of fish, they would be fishers of men.  They would be those who would be used by God to call others to likewise follow the Lord and receive the greatest gift: the gift of eternal life. 

Here were men that the Author of Life was inviting to join Him in His call to the most abundant life (John 10:10), for only He knew what such a life would consist of.   But this invitation was not limited to His 12 disciples. No, it is to each and every one of us right here and right now.  It’s a life not forced upon anyone.  It’s an invitation. It’s by far the highest calling that man has ever known, but it must be accepted.  We are free to keep following other things. We can live a life of the daily grind, getting up in the morning, heading off to work, coming home at night, watching TV, looking forward to the weekends to pursue one hobby or another, then doing it all again the next week. We can pursue a life of pleasure, pursuing the best things money can buy, the vacations, the parties, the food, those sorts of things.  We can pass the time with no thoughts of eternity or how or where the things we are following will lead us in the end. Or we can follow the King of kings and Lord of lords in the highest calling and most abundant life that is possible for any man or woman to experience. 

So, what or whom are you following and where will it lead?  Perhaps you don’t see yourself as following anything – you’re just existing and following a life of monotony.  Or maybe you’re all about following your own dreams in this life, whatever those dreams might be. But have you heeded the awesome invitation of the author of life to follow Him no matter where that adventure might lead? 

May God give us the wisdom to heed His call.  May we not miss the high calling of the Savior to join Him as He works in this world as the Fisher of men.