Fishers of Men

Passing alongside the Sea of Galilee, [Jesus] saw Simon and Andrew the brother of Simon casting a net into the sea, for they were fishermen. 17And Jesus said to them, “Follow me, and I will make you become fishers of men.” 18And immediately they left their nets and followed him. (Mark 1:16-18)

That's it. That is the vision that sold them to drop their nets and follow Christ. "I will make you fishers of men." Nothing about pay. Nothing about work hours. Nothing about "what's in it for me?". "I will make you fishers of men" is it, and to them it is all they needed to hear. Christ's disciples followed him and after his ascension built his church by making disciples to all ends of the earth as they knew it.

What if I told each of you reading this to consider yourself a disciple? How would you respond to that? I think you might ask what it involves, if there is any training or other resources to prepare you for the task or other such questions. In truth though, we are just that by our proclamation of being "followers of Christ." We have been discipled by someone who understood the Great Commission (Matthew 28), had us baptized (parents) or encouraged us to be baptized (friend, other family, someone) and encouraged us to grow in faith. We, in turn, join other disciples who use Means of Grace (baptism as our source of faith) and teach/preach the Word of God. We are his disciples.

Pray with me: Gracious Father, your Son asked us to follow him or to imitate him. Give us guidance as to what this means for us in our daily lives. In Christ's name we pray, Amen.