Fishing Manual

" After John [the Baptist] had been arrested, Jesus came to Galilee proclaiming the gospel of God. As He passed by the Sea of Galilee, He saw Simon and his brother Andrew casting their nets into the sea; they were fishermen. Jesus said to them, 'Come after me, and I will make you fishers of men.' Then they abandoned their nets and followed Him. He walked along a little farther and saw James, the son of Zebedee, and his brother John. They too were in a boat mending their nets. Then He called them. So they left their father Zebedee in the boat, along with the hired men, and followed Him." --[Mark 1:14-20].



I can see that in Mark's version of the Fishers of Men,  no excuses would be acceptable when the fishermen are called to follow Jesus. James and John literally drop their nets; and they even leave their father behind. One would imagine the bewildered look on Zebedee's face.

I have to say that when I finally went from a believer to choosing a church, I fell hopelessly for the story of Jesus who, "went through cities and villages, proclaiming and bringing the good news of the kingdom of God. The twelve were with Him, as well as some women who had been cured of evil spirits and infirmities: " -[Luke 8:1-3].

I read this, and I heard this in a homily and I said, "I want to do THAT!"

Bu, having the call, and the will to do this, are one thing. Actually accomplishing it is another.

I quickly realized that God can call you, unceasingly, to follow His Son. His call can be irresistible. But once we accept the call, we realize that no one has issued an Owner's Manual for becoming a Fisher of Men (and women).

Oh, sure, many pastors have insisted that the Owner's Manual is the Bible. Okay, now I am totally intimidated. The Bible is about 900 pages long!

During conversion and afterwards, I did decide to begin studying the Bible.  But, the more I learn, I realize, the less I know. Somehow, I have to find the balance between knowing about the Bible and being out in the world with people.

I was so excited about my conversion and following Jesus, that I told all my friends. Then, I noticed that I lost friends. Some friends dropped me like a hot stone.  Others argued with me, that you can be a good person, and not believe in God. After my conversion, that argument about being holy without God, just did not do it for me any longer.

 I am  learning to put this rejection into perspective. Even Jesus' own village rejected Him. When Jesus went to his hometown of Nazareth to preach, "they took offense at Him. And He did not do many deeds of power there, because of their unbelief."-[Matthew 13:57].  I once heard a priest comment that this is the saddest story in the Bible because Jesus' power was dimmed by rejection in his  hometown!

Jesus' own family rejected Him at first, believing that He had gone insane. In Mark 3:21, the story is told, "When His relatives heard of [His preaching], they tried to seize Him, saying, 'He is deranged.' "

There is this sense that you do not "waste" your sacred energies on those who will never believe you anyway.  Jesus explained about the parables that He told: "I speak to them in parables, because 'they look but do not see and hear but do not listen and understand.' " -[Matthew 13: 13]. In other words, only those who are ready will hear Him.

I wish I had known this, regarding my own unbelieving mother and father and sibling. I have no regrets about loving them, or ministering to them with all my heart and mind and strength and soul. I have no regrets about modeling Love and Peace and Joy. But I do wish that I had harbored no illusions about converting them.

It it is awfully hard to leave aside one's own family, in their unbelief. Jesus left behind those who rejected Him, or would not listen. In fact, He gave this advice to His apostles: "If any place will not welcome you or listen to you, leave that place and shake the dust off your feet, as a testimony against them."-[Mark 6: 11].

Jesus' behavior here proves the old saying, that God will never force Himself on you. Neither did Jesus force His beliefs on anyone. Nor should we, as Christians, force our beliefs on anyone.

The deacon who teaches my class in Biblical School said, "God must respect the choice of an individual to reject all loving. Therefore, damnation must be possible." In other words, as much as you may want to save everyone, even Jesus could not. A world of  Free Will allows sin.

I feel like a huge cost of my Christianity has been losing my family. My family of origin never "got' my Faith. But, I am learning that "family" comes in unexpected places.   Jesus Himself said,  " 'Who is my mother? Who are my brothers? '. . . .stretching out His hand towards His disciples, He said, 'Here are my mother and my brothers. For whoever does the will of my Heavenly Father is my brother and sister and mother.' " -[Matthew 12:48-50].

How to become a Fisher of Men? Expand your concept of family. Even if your family of origin, or your neighbor, or best friend do not accept you, there is a world of Christian seekers, or believers ready to become your family! They might even walk right up and flop into your boat!

[Related Posting, "Fishers of Men", Jan, 21, 2012; "The Lord is Calling", Jan. 20, 2015].

(c) Spiritual Devotional 2015. All Rights Reserved.