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Good Shepherd Lutheran Church Today's Frontline Devotion January 17, 2006 Jesus Calls |
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Frontline Devotion for Tuesday, January 17, 2006 by Don Kress
Today’s text tells the story of Jesus calling his first four disciples – Simon, Andrew, James and John. The Bible doesn’t tell us much about them; it merely says, “They were fishermen.” We don’t know whether they’ve been to hear Jesus preach, or whether they’ve ever heard of Him before. What we do know is that here they are, plying their trade – some casting their nets for fish and some sitting in their boat mending their nets – when Jesus walks by, sees them, and calls them to follow Him, saying, “I will make you fishers of men.” The “Message” interprets His words as, “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.”
I think there’s a lesson to be learned here. Jesus doesn’t say, “Follow me and I’ll reveal the scriptures to you and teach you to become rabbis.” Instead, he simply calls them to follow Him and continue fishing – except now they will be catching people instead of fish. In His call, Jesus doesn’t tell them that they will have to learn new skills and a new vocation. His call is for them to carry into God’s service the abilities and skills they had already acquired. He gives them a new task for their old skills. I think too many of us hesitate to respond to God’s call because we think we will have to learn and do something new, something unfamiliar to us. Today’s lesson shows that God will use the skills and abilities you already have in expanding His Kingdom – he’ll use you in your current line of work – if you’ll only answer His call.
That brings me to what I think is the second lesson in today’s text. When called by Jesus, these four men responded immediately. They didn’t inquire about the wages or working hours or conditions; they “left their nets and followed Him.” They didn’t bargain, saying, “We’ll meet you in Capernaum in a few days after we’ve had a chance to say goodbye to our families.” They didn’t say, “We’ll catch up with you as soon as our father has been able to hire some men to take our place.” Instead, immediately they left and went after Him. I don’t know about you, but I think about the only thing that would make me drop what I’m doing and go immediately with someone else is if they said, “Quick, come with me, one of your family members is in trouble.” But they weren’t responding to just anyone – they were responding to the personal invitation of Christ! Maybe the lesson for us is that we need to be more attuned to being receptive to Christ’s personal invitation to use our acquired skills and abilities in doing the work of His Kingdom. And when that invitation comes, we need to accept it without bargaining for time to put the rest of our lives in order. He’s ready to use us just as we are.
I want to close today’s devotion with some words from two hymns. The first are from a hymn in “With One Voice,” entitled “You Have Come Down to the Lakeshore.” Here are the first and second verses:
“You have come down to the lakeshore seeking neither the wise nor the wealthy, but only asking for me to follow. Sweet Lord, you have looked into my eyes; kindly smiling, you’ve called out my name. On the sand I have abandoned my small boat; now with you, I will seek other seas.”
“You know full well what I have, Lord: neither treasure nor weapons for conquest, just these my fish nets and will for working. Sweet Lord, you have looked into my eyes; kindly smiling, you’ve called out my name. On the sand I have abandoned my small boat; now with you, I will seek other seas.”
And this past Sunday we sang a hymn from the Lutheran Book of Worship, a hymn that was unfamiliar to me but very moving, entitled “Hark, the Voice of Jesus Calling.” Here are its first and fourth verses:
“Hark the voice of Jesus calling, ‘Who will go and work today? Fields are white and harvests waiting, Who will bear the sheaves away?’ Loud and long the master calls you; Rich reward he offers free. Who will answer, gladly saying, ‘Here am I. Send me, send me.’?”
“Let none hear you idly saying, ‘There is nothing I can do,’ While the multitudes are dying and the master calls for you. Take the task he gives you gladly; Let his work your pleasure be. Answer quickly when he calls you, ‘Here am I. Send me, send me!’.”
Christ will look into your eyes and offer His personal invitation for you to follow Him and use your skills and abilities to bring people into His Kingdom. Are you ready to abandon your small boat and seek other seas?
Prayer: Lord Jesus, give me faith to be open to your personal invitation, and the will to answer when it comes. Give me the courage to abandon my small boat and respond, “Here am I. Send me, send me!” Amen.
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All are welcome to join and share in our Devotional Ministry on the "Frontlines" of the world. Frontline Devotions are sent via email daily. Sign up by clicking on the box to the left. Pastor Dave welcomes feedback. Contact him at pastordave@goodshepherdonline.org. |
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