Follow Me
By David Free, Deacon
“Come, follow Me,” Jesus said, “and I will send you out to fish for people.” (Mark 1:17)
This is a tough one for me. I have to confess that I really have a problem applying these verses to my everyday life. I interpret them to mean that, to be a true follower of Christ, I should talk to others about my faith in Jesus, so they too can
The problem is, I am not comfortable talking about Jesus to strangers. You people, fine; I love talking about Jesus with my church family. I guess I feel the fishing part is more of the preacher’s job. But yet I have an ex-fraternity roommate who does exactly what Jesus asked His disciples Andrew and Simon to do––he goes to the mall, the beach, anywhere he finds people and invites them to experience Jesus. I also have strangers come to my door offering to share the word of Jesus. I have people on the internet doing the same.
So what’s wrong with me?
Well, I went looking for an interpretation of these verses. Something that might tell me whether or not I should be going out in public, stopping people and telling them about the glory of God’s world. What I found was that Jesus wants me to help Him bring others into the Kingdom, but I don’t necessarily have to be a fisherman by personally approaching people. I just need to love Him and obey like Simon and Andrew did as they threw down their nets and followed Him.
I discovered that I might not be a fisherman like the two of them, but I am useful to Jesus in other ways, ways in which I have been gifted and blessed, ways that bring about the Kingdom of God to others simply by my demeanor, my presence, my Christ-like attitude. Now I understand, that's my net, that’s how I fish.
I would like to close with a poem written by my eldest nephew, Bruce Bartman. It tells of a woman who is desperately trying to cast her net, hoping for a big catch. Although I feel inadequate to do what she is attempting, I admire her immensely for her act!
Penance
The light pushes slowly up,
its surge spilling over the horizon
like bright water edging over
a dark dam's verge.
At one corner of a wide crossroad,
upon the dirt and stones
a woman unfolds a table and places a speaker box
atop it, her tiny chapel nearly complete.
Along the edges of the table she tapes
paper banners proclaiming
"Jesus is Life" and "His Word Redeems."
She clicks on the speaker and takes up the microphone.
The traffic's torrent roars this way and then that
while she begins speaking aloud His words
which whirl like fallen leaves
in that wild river's flow.
And so she sings, nearly drowned in the surge,
for hours, fervently casting the net.
Prayer: Heavenly Father, let us be fishers of people in the ways You have blessed us. Let us cast our nets and help bring them closer to You, into Your presence. Through the name of the One we follow, Jesus Christ, Amen.
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