What Would You Do?

Now as he walked by the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and Andrew his brother casting a net into the sea: for they were fishers. And Jesus said unto them, Come ye after me, and I will make you . . . fishers of men. And straightway . . . they followed him" (Mark 1:16-18).

Put yourself in the place of one of those brothers. Would you drop everything and follow Jesus wherever he decided to lead you? Before you answer, "Sure, I would," remember, you are living here, today, not in Galilee two thousand years ago.

When the brothers saw Jesus and heard his voice they left their homes, their friends, their families, and their jobs and followed him. You can be sure their friends shook their heads and told each other quietly that those fellows were crazy. Jesus promised them nothing but hard work and no pay. Nothing? Well, a chance to save their fellow men from the mistakes the world causes them to make. Anyhow, they went after Jesus.

Jesus did not offer his followers a chance to see whether or not they would like following him. Once they dropped those nets into their boats and took off they became "displaced persons." They didn't belong anywhere. They had no idea where Jesus would lead them.

We may never be called to leave our homes and friends to serve Christ. But we shall be called sometimes to leave certain "things" behind to follow him. Things like greed, selfishness, hate, fear of the unknown, and a thousand little mean things we do every day. One thing is sure, though. If we leave these things behind, God will give us something better to take their place. Is it worth it to follow Christ? Think it over. Ask yourself if you are entirely satisfied with yourself now.