“Come, follow me,” Jesus said, “and I will send you out to fish for people” (NIV11).

 

 

I wonder what they were thinking, don’t you? Jesus sees two brothers, Peter and Andrew,
casting a net into the lake to catch fish. He tells them, “Come, follow me.” And they leave their
nets to follow him. Now, understand: he’s met them before. This isn’t a first-time cold call. But
when Jesus calls, they’re ready. . . and they go.

 

Then he comes across James and John, who are also fishermen. They’re in a boat with their
father preparing their nets. Jesus calls them, too. “Let’s fish for souls,” he says. And they drop
everything. They leave their boat. They leave their father. And they go and follow Jesus.

 

Who does that? Who leaves it all behind to follow Jesus, not knowing what the future holds in
store? Who leaves behind job, family, and home just to be with Jesus and learn from him? I
guess you could say: only somebody who really wants to. Only someone who sees Jesus for who
he is and knows the peace and blessing only he can bring.

 

What these men did makes sense only when we see that. Jesus Christ was and is the Son of God
and Savior of the world. Yet he took on the nature of a servant. “He humbled himself by
becoming obedient to death—even death on a cross!” (Philippians 2:8). He did it to cancel our
debt of sin and give us the joy of everlasting life.

 

How much of that did Peter and Andrew and James and John really understand? Not all of
it—at least not at this time. But what they did know about Jesus made them want to give
something in return. And so when they hear his call to come and follow him, they answer that
call with joy. They give him their lives.

 

Jesus is calling you. He’s calling you to follow him just as he called them. He’s calling you to be
his disciple—to learn from him, to walk in his ways, and to share the good news with all. He’s
calling you to get involved in his work—to go out and “fish for souls.” How will you respond?