Friday December 6, 2016

 

Everyone who follows Jesus does so for a reason. When reading the Gospels, we find that crowds of people who followed Jesus constantly surrounded Him, and each one had a specific reason for following Him. Things today remain much the same; throughout the world, week after week, millions of people gather in Christian churches. All of these people have unique circumstances and reasons for gathering. There are those who became followers of Jesus because they were lonely while others follow Him because of financial, emotional, physical, or relational situations. Everyone has a reason for following Jesus.

 

We all had a reason in mind when we decided to follow Jesus. Likewise, when Jesus invited us to follow Him, He too had a reason in mind. From His perspective, the ultimate goal of a follower is to become a leader. When Jesus initially invited the disciples to follow Him, those who accepted the invitation had their own agenda in mind. Mostly, they were hoping that Jesus would liberate them from the grip of the Roman Empire and reestablish Israel as the most powerful nation on earth. Jesus however had another plan for them. Chances are that when Jesus said to them “come follow me and I will make you fishers of men”, His words went right over their heads. Like the disciples, who followed Jesus for their own reason, we too have something or someone we want to be free from and there is a kingdom that we hope Jesus will establish for us. Those of us who, and many of the millions of followers that gather each week, have a tendency to lose sight of the fact that Jesus’ invitation to follow is an invitation to “become” something and that something is fishers of men.

 

Mathew 28: 18-20 NLT

Jesus came and told his disciples, “I have been given all authority in heaven and on earth. Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you. And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”

 

Right after Jesus’ resurrection and before His ascension into heaven, Jesus gathered those who He had initially invited to follow Him. The culmination of His initial invitation was the commandment to make disciples out of all the nations. It was now time to go and fish for men, because those who accept the invitation to follow Jesus will eventually become fishers of men.

 

If you want to know whether or not you are a follower of Jesus, finding out is simple. Ask yourself if you are participating in the process of fishing for men. The ultimate goal of becoming a follower of Jesus is to lead others to follow Him.