Mark 1:17-18 And Jesus said to them, "Follow me, and I will make you become fishers of men."[a] 18 And immediately they left their nets and followed him. English Standard Version (ESV)
Yesterday I quoted part of Rich Mullins' "Creed". I'd like to use one line from that song as a backdrop for today's verse, he stated, "I did not make it, no it is making me". It can be said of the creed, the decision to follow. It could easily be thought of as I did not make , but He is making me", making His followers to be fishers of men.
I'll share another quote from Schillebeeckz' "On Christian Faith" :
"The message of Jesus embraces the kingdom of God in all its height and depth, breadth and length; not just the forgiveness of sins and eternal life, although it also includes that, indeed it is above all about that. Ultimately Jesus proclaimed the absolute, freely given and effective nearness of the God who creates and brings salvation. We Christians learn to express stammeringly the content of what 'God' is and the content of what humanity can be from the career of Jesus."
I was struck by the word "stammeringly" in relation to our following. Stammering or stuttering is often thought of negatively as an involuntary act, most often in our speech, where our actions are not totally within our control. When you think about it, isn't following Jesus a lot about that. It is not ourselves but Him working in us that may cause us to step back and say, "where did that come from" or "did I do that" in reaction to something that we do for the kingdom of God that wouldn't been part of our old nature. Things that we wouldn't have done voluntarily. It is what happens when people, when we truly become followers.
Can you think of a time when you've followed Jesus "stammeringly"? Perhaps its time for us to drop our nets and follow more closely and experience that. It would make us all that we can be.
Mark 1:16-20
The Message (MSG)
16-18 Passing along the beach of Lake Galilee, he saw Simon and his brother Andrew net-fishing. Fishing was their regular work. Jesus said to them, "Come with me. I'll make a new kind of fisherman out of you. I'll show you how to catch men and women instead of perch and bass." They didn't ask questions. They dropped their nets and followed.
19-20 A dozen yards or so down the beach, he saw the brothers James and John, Zebedee's sons. They were in the boat, mending their fishnets. Right off, he made the same offer. Immediately, they left their father Zebedee, the boat, and the hired hands, and followed.
No comments:
Post a Comment