FOLLOW THEN FISH
I love Mark’s Gospel. I love how quickly he moves the action throughout the book. No fluff. Just facts. Just facts about the Messiah who came to save the world.
In Mark 1, we see an example of that. After quickly moving through Jesus’ birth and testing, we get a not so detailed account of Jesus calling his first disciples. While Matthew and Luke both go into more detail, Mark gets straight to the point on the calling of Peter.
As Jesus walked beside the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and his brother Andrew casting a net into the lake, for they were fishermen. “Come, follow me,” Jesus said, “and I will send you out to fish for people.” At once they left their nets and followed him. (Mark 1:16-18)
Obviously, most of us have read this portion of Mark’s quick account multiple times. We know the story of Peter fishing, washing his nets, leaving everything, and having his life radically changed by this Rabbi from Nazareth. What I think I’ve often missed in this account is the order in which Jesus outlines for Peter to take on this new life. Notice he says…
FOLLOW
FISH
For those of us in ministry, I think it’s really easy to get those priorities backwards. We focus on the bottom line (souls) and forget the input (following Jesus). What I’m learning (and should have already learned) is that fishing is best done when I’m a follower first.
My ministry. My love for people. My church. They are all so much better when I get these priorities correct. When I follow Jesus first, my fishing is so much more successful. When I put my relationship with Jesus consistently in front of my ministry life, my ministry is stronger.
I don’t think this is just a word for those of us that work in full time ministry. I think this translates to mothers, fathers, students, teachers, coaches, waitresses, nurses, and any other profession you can name. You see, as we live this life as followers of Jesus, we have a calling to be fishermen. We all have people to reach, people in our circle, and people that need to be loved. The only way we can do that is when we remember that we’re a follower first.
So, what does that mean? It means we may have to reorient our lives a little. It means we put more weight on our relationship with Jesus than what we do. It means we…
