Follow Me
In the gospel of Mark there is a profound scene where Jesus calls four of his apostles. This scene is the essence of what Christians call discipleship. The text says:
“16As Jesus walked beside the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and his brother Andrew casting a net into the lake, for they were fishermen. 17“Come, follow me,” Jesus said, “and I will send you out to fish for people.” 18At once they left their nets and followed him. 19When he had gone a little farther, he saw James son of Zebedee and his brother John in a boat, preparing their nets. 20Without delay he called them, and they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired men and followed him.” (Mark 1:16-20)
The heart of discipleship is simply Jesus inviting us to follow Him. To think as He thinks. To see life as He sees it. To love as He loves. To see people through his lens. To make His character the model for our own. In an American culture that obsessively values individualism this is a tough sell, but this is the call of the Christian. While challenging, it is an invitation to human flourishing - to move from my selfishness to His selflessness, to transform from my brokenness to His wholeness. It is a profoundly beautiful invitation. Many years ago I read a little book titled In His Steps by Charles Sheldon. The essence of the book was the call to ask “What would Jesus do?” in any situation. It is a powerfully clarifying question that should be asked with regularity.
Notice that the cost of discipleship is high. These men “left their nets.” Don’t breeze past that simple phrase. “Their nets” stood for their career and a significant part of their identity. They were fishermen; it was what they knew and who they were, and they dropped it to follow Jesus. I remember sitting alone in a prayer chapel at Taylor University wrestling with my calling. I was completing a business degree and was investigating law schools. But I felt called to become a minister. My dad was a minister, I was aware of the financial struggles and the leadership challenges that would await if I went in that direction and wanted nothing to do with it. But in that quiet place I chose to surrender my career dreams to follow Christ in the direction that He had for my life. I went to seminary and entered the ministry and never looked back. It has been and is a great life; one I would not trade for anything. What is Jesus calling you to do? Maybe your call is to the business world or the medical field or overseas missions. The heart (and hard) question is will you follow Him where He directs?
Also notice in the text that James and John left their father and followed Jesus. For them they had to step away from the family business. Some today lose their family if they respond to the call of Jesus. If a person who grows up Muslim chooses to follow Christ they may be disowned or worse. Jesus Christ will not accept second place in your life. He demands to be the primary allegiance. Jesus is Lord, is the cry of the church. A halfway commitment to Jesus will not be recognized or rewarded. As a matter of fact, the image in Revelation is that if we are lukewarm Jesus will spit us out of His mouth (Revelation 3:16). This is a harsh reality, but a life fully devoted to Christ is discipleship at its finest.
If you say you are Christian, isn’t it time you went all in?
Pastor Derek Dickinson
“16As Jesus walked beside the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and his brother Andrew casting a net into the lake, for they were fishermen. 17“Come, follow me,” Jesus said, “and I will send you out to fish for people.” 18At once they left their nets and followed him. 19When he had gone a little farther, he saw James son of Zebedee and his brother John in a boat, preparing their nets. 20Without delay he called them, and they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired men and followed him.” (Mark 1:16-20)
The heart of discipleship is simply Jesus inviting us to follow Him. To think as He thinks. To see life as He sees it. To love as He loves. To see people through his lens. To make His character the model for our own. In an American culture that obsessively values individualism this is a tough sell, but this is the call of the Christian. While challenging, it is an invitation to human flourishing - to move from my selfishness to His selflessness, to transform from my brokenness to His wholeness. It is a profoundly beautiful invitation. Many years ago I read a little book titled In His Steps by Charles Sheldon. The essence of the book was the call to ask “What would Jesus do?” in any situation. It is a powerfully clarifying question that should be asked with regularity.
Notice that the cost of discipleship is high. These men “left their nets.” Don’t breeze past that simple phrase. “Their nets” stood for their career and a significant part of their identity. They were fishermen; it was what they knew and who they were, and they dropped it to follow Jesus. I remember sitting alone in a prayer chapel at Taylor University wrestling with my calling. I was completing a business degree and was investigating law schools. But I felt called to become a minister. My dad was a minister, I was aware of the financial struggles and the leadership challenges that would await if I went in that direction and wanted nothing to do with it. But in that quiet place I chose to surrender my career dreams to follow Christ in the direction that He had for my life. I went to seminary and entered the ministry and never looked back. It has been and is a great life; one I would not trade for anything. What is Jesus calling you to do? Maybe your call is to the business world or the medical field or overseas missions. The heart (and hard) question is will you follow Him where He directs?
Also notice in the text that James and John left their father and followed Jesus. For them they had to step away from the family business. Some today lose their family if they respond to the call of Jesus. If a person who grows up Muslim chooses to follow Christ they may be disowned or worse. Jesus Christ will not accept second place in your life. He demands to be the primary allegiance. Jesus is Lord, is the cry of the church. A halfway commitment to Jesus will not be recognized or rewarded. As a matter of fact, the image in Revelation is that if we are lukewarm Jesus will spit us out of His mouth (Revelation 3:16). This is a harsh reality, but a life fully devoted to Christ is discipleship at its finest.
If you say you are Christian, isn’t it time you went all in?
Pastor Derek Dickinson
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