Welcome back to 31 Days of Love in Red Letters. (Click here to find the beginning of the series and a list of posts.)
I hope you spent your weekend days well!
Growing up in Michigan in a house full of girls, we didn’t spend a lot of time fishing. That, or I blocked it all out of my memory.
We have pictures from when I was 1, of me sitting on a dock screaming bloody murder while a fish flopped nearby, completely out of control and slimy. Where were my parents? I still have nightmares. Maybe this is why we rarely fished.
I do have some happy fishing memories. The ones of the stocked Bass Pond. Times when Dad hooked the worm for me, and also took the fish off when I reeled him back in. There, it was instant success, definitely not like being a true fisherman. Not a lot of persistence required for the bass pond.
In this photo, I’m only screaming on the inside. If only I could find the others…
In Matthew 4:19, Jesus spoke to a some professional fishermen, “Come, follow me, and I will send you out to fish for people.”
Jesus walked along the shore, where brothers Simon and Andrew cast nets into the lake in their usual fishing spot. He invited them to walk away.
Their response? They left their nets behind and followed Jesus immediately.
Remember this was not their first encounter with Jesus. (See Day 3.) They had spent the day with Him and already believed He was the Messiah.
When they heard the call of Christ, clear as day, they knew it was a total commitment, to become His disciples. And they committed. They left their livelihood behind. Think about it. That’s no small thing…it was probably everything to them.
It’s easy to confess belief in Christ—at least here in America. Especially here in the Bible Belt. But it’s an entirely different matter to leave and give up and let go, in order to follow Jesus.
His call doesn’t necessarily come in the form of “Leave your job behind,” though I know a number of people who wish He would say that right about now. But we all have nets we’ll have to drop in the water in order to follow Jesus.
Maybe it looks like:
Drop your plans, and take up Mine.
Leave that sin, and obey Me.
Let go of those desires, and hold onto My desires instead.
What net will you leave behind? Our call to follow Jesus is another instance of Love in Red Letters.
Wishing you a Monday…that doesn’t feel like a Monday! 🙂
“we all have nets we’ll have to drop in the water” Love this, Angela! I wrote a similarly themed post a week or so ago entitled, “Who Should Bury the Dead” We all need to take care not to let worldly things stop us from answering the call of Christ. Have a blessed week!