It’s kind of cool to be able to sit back and listen to someone else preach for a while. We’ve been going to Way of Life for about the past 6 months and I’ve thoroughly enjoyed hearing Wade preach. This past Sunday, Wade tallked about Jesus calling Peter, James and John as they were on the sea shore and asking them to “follow me and I’ll make you fishers of men.” The incredible thing about this story is that they left EVERYTHING and followed Him immediately. They left their families, friends, business…their entire life and followed this man that they just met.
As I was thinking about this, a thought popped into my mind. If Peter, James and John followed Jesus immediately, that means that they left their fishing boat just sitting there. This was probably a nice boat…it was their main source of revenue and livelihood. If they didn’t catch fish, they didn’t eat, so it was probably pretty pimped out. So, picture this: you’re some dude just sitting on the beach, admiring the view when you see these 3 guys get out of their boat, drop everything and follow this other dude down the beach, disappearing into the sunset. You sit there and wait and wait and wait and after about 3 hours, they’re still gone! You’re thinking to yourself “SWEET, this is my lucky day…FREE BOAT! Those guys are suckers, leaving their boat like that!”
But little do you know that they haven’t thought twice about thier dumb fishing boat. They gladly left it behind because they are now following the One who will make them fishers of men! I think I have been like the dude on the beach for too long. I have strived after ‘things’ and ‘stuff’ and even envied the gifts and talents of preachers/teachers/ pastors that I admire, wishing that I could be like them. And when I achieved moderate success, I have celebrated because I have arrived, I got my boat!!
But when I look at the men/women who are truly radical for Christ and have left a lasting legacy, they disregarded the ‘stuff’ of this world. They couldn’t care less about reputation, material possessions or prestige. They were even willing to leave their careers, familes and friends in order to follow the One who could make them fishers of men…and they never regretted it! I’m DONE with finding abandoned fishing boats and thinking it’s a blessing! It’s time to be the one who follows the One and let someone else find my abandoned boat.
