Day 2 – Mark 1: 16-20
By the busy shore of Lake Galilee, Jesus calls two fishermen in the middle of their daily work. He doesn’t wait until later when they have time to consider things, there is no negotiation, and He uses language they understand: “come, I will make you fishers… of people”! Simon and Andrew follow immediately.
Two other brothers are mending their nets: they are in the act of preparation and renewal – caring, planning – to ensure their next net-casting will be efficient. Perhaps they are “regrouping for mission”. Again, Jesus calls them before they finish their preparation, maybe before they feel ready. James and John also immediately leave their boat, their father, the paid workers and their livelihood, and they follow Jesus.
I find it hard to understand leaving all behind in a moment: family, employment, things I have worked for, my current project. As a child I remember being slow to answer my mother’s calls while busy playing or absent-mindedly daydreaming.
I think God calls me time and again, for different roles in my life. Sometimes, when God calls me, I am slow to respond. I wonder if I have heard Him or if I imagined it. It’s as if it is a misty day by the Sea of Galilee and I can’t quite work out who is there. But as I look and try to move closer, in prayer and thought, I can start to make out the figure of Christ whom I can trust. Then I try to concentrate on what He is saying and discern how He is calling me. Throughout my life I have been confident of God’s presence and love, but I sometimes have to strain to see the figure of Christ and where He is calling me to follow.
Dear Lord, thank you for calling me to play a part in Your Kingdom. Help me to hear and respond to Your call in the confidence that You want to use my gifts.
By Helen Cunningham
Newcastle West Circuit
Local Preacher in training