Matthew 4:19 “Then He said to them, ‘Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men.'” (NKJV)
Daniel and I have the privilege of attending church every Sunday morning to enjoy a meal with Jesus. A meal that provides us with life-giving words and at the same time create a greater hunger in us for more of Jesus. When we attended church this past Sunday, I was touched by the message and it inspired me to be more fruitful in God’s kingdom. The pastor shared a powerful message on becoming fishers of men, but the one statement that hit home for me was when he said, “Your following determines your fishing.” In other words, my fishing and the extent thereof for God’s kingdom will be determined by my following Jesus Christ.
Our human tendencies often lead us to believe it is all about what I can do but when it comes to the works of Jesus in our lives, it has nothing to do with our abilities. Jesus does not need our efforts, goodness or intelligence for us to be worthy and effective in His kingdom. He only needs us to surrender. When we depend on our own abilities to work for God we are limited but when we surrender everything to Jesus and let Him do His works through us, we will touch lives and change minds that seemed impossible.
As believers in Jesus, we are all called to be “fishers of men”. It is not based on our qualifications but on our Heavenly Father’s calling on our lives. He does not say “Follow Me because you are doing so well” or “Follow Me because of who you are or who you know”. No, what He says is “Follow Me, because I will make you fishers of men.” Our calling is entirely based on what Jesus is going to do through us. We might not see any potential in ourselves, but Jesus knows what He made us to be and what He can do through us. We only need to surrender and let Him work through us.
Our focus should not be on what we can do and how many people’s lives we can touch. Our focus should be on following Jesus. The better we know Him, the better will we know His heart for us and for the broken world in which He wants to use us. We will understand the ways of the Lord better and we will hear His Voice and be able to obey every command He lays on our hearts.
Our calling is established in Jesus and when He becomes more in our lives, and we become less, we will begin to see more of His purpose flow through us. When our focus is entirely on Jesus, the fishing will come naturally. We will be led by the Holy Spirit to give someone a kind word in a time of great need. We will be prompted to meet a need even without knowing it was a need. We will bring hope where there is none and we will sow a seed in the garden of heaven. We might never see that seed grown in to a beautiful flower with everlasting life, but God will know.
Our obedience to Jesus’ calling to be a fisher of men should not be driven by the result of how many souls we can get to heaven and how often can we get recognized for what we have done. If that is the case, our rewards will be limited to the recognition we receive on earth and our impact will be small. The only reason for our obedience should be to walk in Jesus’ will for our lives. When we walk in that knowing, we will be able to sow seeds and be hopeful, even when we never see the final outcome. We will be able to do what Jesus lays on our hearts, trusting Him to bring forth the fruit. The calling of being a fisher of men is an act of faith. We do not always know whether we will reap a soul, but we continue to trust in the Lord that He knows what He is doing.
The hardest part in being obedient to this calling of Jesus on our lives is to lay down ourselves and to let Him be in charge. It means to forget about our own ideas and let the Lord be in control. We often have an opinion about every situation and person we encounter in life but in order for us to be effectively used by Jesus we need to bring a halt to those opinions. Jesus cannot use us when we judge people on their actions, whether good or bad. Even when we think someone has it all together, do not let that stop you to follow a prompting from the Holy Spirit to do or say something to that person. Also, the same time we block our objectivity by starring at the negatives aspects of someone, rather ask the Lord to show you something good about that person. We might even be granted an opportunity to bring light in an area of darkness. It is time to take our own understanding out of the way and let Jesus touch people by His grace.
Every situation is an opportunity to sow a seed for heaven’s eternal garden. Never let your own preconceived ideas prevent you from bringing hope where you feel it is not needed or deserved. We possess a divine calling and opportunity to bring a smile to someone’s face, to bring hope where there is none and life where death had a say.
Today, Jesus is extending the invitation to you again to follow Him so that He can use you to reel in the souls of men He destined to touch through your life. Do you accept it?