Bible Challenge Day 4

Genesis 10-12, Psalm 4, Matthew 4

I can remember distinctly our bible study at church and the sermon surrounding the story of Jesus calling the first disciples.  Simon Peter and Andrew are fishing.  Jesus says "Follow me", and "immediately they left their nets and followed him."  That's a pretty striking image.  My dad used to fish a lot.  I can't imagine him just leaving his fishing trip because some guy said, "follow me."  Think about your own job.  I work in a coffee shop.  I know that's not the most life-changing job a person can have, but I take my work very seriously.  If someone came to me and said, "follow me", I'd probably say, "Can I finish this latte first?"  That's an incredible act of faith.  What's even crazier is that the exact same thing happens with James and John.  They even leave their own father behind to follow Jesus.

Of course, Jesus gives Simon Peter and Andrew a pretty good deal.  He says if they leave their nets he will make them "fish for people".  Other translations say, "I will make you fishers of men."  That's a pretty amazing thing.  Like I said, when I make a latte at the coffee shop, and I do make a mean latte, by the way, I'm not really doing much to change the world.  Sure I make that person's day a little better for a little while, but I'm not  doing anything half as incredible as "fishing for men."  I believe that Jesus still calls us to follow him.  I'm not leaving my job at the coffee shop any time soon, but I can still follow Jesus.  Perhaps writing on this humble little blog every day is a way I can make that happen.  Mother Anita, the rector at my church in Newport, gave a rather compelling sermon a while back on listening for God's call.  I'm inclined to believe her when she says God calls all of us, and calls all of us to a specific task and purpose.  I don't always hear God's call clearly, but I believe that with prayer and studying the Bible and staying in a community of Christians I can learn to hear God better.  One thing Mother Anita said that stuck with me was that she believes God speaks to us in community.  That's certainly true in this gospel story of two sets of brothers.  When we hear God's call in community we can better know what he's saying.  It's just staying open to that call.  Being willing to leave our nets behind and follow Jesus.