A Sea of Change

I love the stories in Matthew chapter 4 concerning the calling of Jesus Christ’s first followers. The first to answer his call were fishermen: Simon (who came to be known as Peter) and his brother Andrew. The two of them, along with Jesus, went along the shoreline of the Sea of Galilee and encountered two other fishermen, also brothers, who were called James and John. Jesus called to these two “sons of Zebedee” and they, too, became followers of Jesus.

What were these followers of Jesus doing when they were called? “They were casting their net into the lake, for they were fishermen” (v. 18). “They were in a boat with their father Zebedee, preparing their nets” (v. 21). “Come, follow me, and I will make you fishers of men,” Jesus said to them.

When I read that, I thought back to my own call to follow Christ and become a fisher of men. Like these men, I was doing the work for which I was educated and hired. I was raising my family in the place where life had so far taken me. But it was time for a new direction, time to follow Jesus in a new way and fulfill the destiny of my life.

At that time, I was a department manager in a factory that made golf grips! Jesus said to follow him and I would become a “manager” of God’s people and of God’s truth, helping people get a new kind of grip!

Like Peter, Andrew, James, and John, I was involved with my family, taking care of my future. Jesus was about to enlarge my “family” and secure my future. Yes, with persecutions (See Mark 10.29-31), but oh how the joys of following Christ and serving his Church supersede the sorrows and trials!

Those are treasured and meaningful memories that lead me to pray: “Now Lord, I feel as though my nets are dry, my boat is beached. But, Lord, your call still rings in my ears and beats within my breast. Where, oh Master will you use me? Where, oh Leader will I follow you? Walk beside me as you walked beside the sea of change in the lives of those fishermen. Call me anew as you called before, and at once I will leave my nets… immediately I will leave the boat… and follow you.”

Are you uncertain as to where you are to go next in life? Are you struggling through a place where you feel ineffective or put on the shelf? Jesus has not forgotten you. Go back to your Sea of Galilee, and affirm to the Lord that you will follow him. He still walks beside the seas of turmoil and change calling to you, “Follow me, and I will make you a fisher of men.”