The other morning, I said if you woke up, which you did, then the Lord had something planned for you to do. I believe that with all my heart. Every day is an opportunity to do what God has designed us to do.
“ One day as Jesus was walking along the shore of the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers—Simon, also called Peter, and Andrew—throwing a net into the water, for they fished for a living. 19 Jesus called out to them, ‘Come, follow me, and I will show you how to fish for people!’ 20 And they left their nets at once and followed him.
21 A little farther up the shore he saw two other brothers, James and John, sitting in a boat with their father, Zebedee, repairing their nets. And he called them to come, too. 22 They immediately followed him, leaving the boat and their father behind.” Matthew 4:18-22 NLT
Net mending is a common activity for a fisherman, even more so in that day when nets were hemp and not nylon like we have today.
A year ago, we were in Greece, in a small port town of Naoussa on the island of Paros. Each day as we walked the path by the harbor, we saw the fisherman mending their nets. They had been out fishing all night and when they came in the routine was the same. Process their catch, clean the boat and mend the nets.
That’s where Jesus found His first four disciples, Peter, Andrew, James and John. It was a normal day of routine activity. Nothing special or different about the day until Jesus walked by.
He hanged the course of their lives. He called them to follow Him and without hesitation the Bible says immediately they left their nets. No discussion just immediate obedience. This decision to leave their nets and follow Jesus had consequences. If they decided later to turn back and return to fishing instead of following on with Jesus their nets would be in disrepair and ineffective until they were mended properly. Their livelihood would be in jeopardy.
Their immediate response indicates that they had no intention of returning to their nets. They followed!
They trusted the Master. They had faith in His calling and they followed.
How does that apply to us? Jesus said:
“ But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you. And you will be my witnesses, telling people about me everywhere—in Jerusalem, throughout Judea, in Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” Acts 1:8 NLT
We’ve been instructed to be a witness wherever we go. On the job, at home, in the grocery store, on vacation, at the auto shop, on the sports field – wherever we go, we are witnesses.
When we hear the prompting of the Lord to call someone or go visit them to pray with them during a hard time, we are going into all the world. When we sense that we should help someone or give them an encouraging word we are leaving our nets and following. These are all opportunities of ministry. When we share Christ with someone who is hurting and overcome by grief, we are leaving our nets and following.
May we always be mindful that people need to experience the love of Jesus in a real and powerful way, and they are more important than our nets.