We live in a world where information is at our fingertips in an instant, where we can talk to someone in another country just by clicking a few buttons, where macaroni and cheese can be ready to eat in just three minutes! Yet we ourselves have not developed that quickness in our own personalities. I know I haven't. If my mom asks me to do something, the first words out of my mouth are usually, "I'll do it in a minute," although my actual response time is much longer. We don't do these things immediately. Why? Sometimes we can't get away from the project we are working on. But how many times do we say "in a minute" because we are too selfish to stop what we are doing and take the time to do what is required? I'm guilty of that probably 99% of the time! And you know what? Putting it off only makes it worse! If I don't want to do it now, what makes me think I'll want to do it in 30 minutes?! Yet I still postpone the inevitable because I'm too LAZY or SELFISH! But there are four guys in this chapter of Matthew who aren't lazy or selfish when they are asked to drop what they are doing to begin something new.
Look at Matthew 4:18-22. Jesus is walking by the Sea of Galilee and he's about to call His first disciples. He sees Simon (Peter) and Andrew fishing. This was their job, their source of income and food. Simon Peter and Andrew are just going about their normal routine, doing their job to have money and food for home. Jesus looked at them and He said, "Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men." If someone came up to me while I was working and told me to drop what I was doing just to follow them to an unknown destination, I'd think they were nuts! I would be grabbing the phone to call the police! But look at verse 20. It says that IMMEDIATELY they dropped what they were doing and followed him. IMMEDIATELY! Just as soon as Jesus finished his sentence, Peter and Andrew stopped working and just followed him! That's not exactly the response I thought was coming. The same thing happens when Jesus calls James and John shortly after. Immediately following Jesus' call, they left their boat AND they left their FATHER to follow him! So all four guys quit their jobs, two left their family to finish all the work, and they followed Jesus to where he was teaching. Do you see how much they gave up? Do you see what they really did? They left the life they knew to begin a new career, to do something that a stranger asked them to do! The thing that stands out to me the most about their response is how quickly they followed Jesus. They immediately followed Him! They didn't stop to think about it, they didn't go home to ask their parents, they just did what they knew they had to do! WOW!
Do we drop what we are doing to follow Jesus' call? I know I don't. How many times do I hear that still small voice saying "Follow Me" but I don't respond? How many times to I skip my devotions or prayer time because I'm too tired or there's something else I would rather do? It's hard to take the time to follow God's leading, but the rewards are so much better than we could ever imagine! I challenge you to not be lazy or selfish and put off what you know God has called you to do; rather be like these first four disciples and immediately follow Him! Do you have that struggle? How do you get over the lazy, selfish feeling and do what God commands? I'd love to hear from you! :)
I've listened to this song many times, and I thought you might enjoy listening to it after reading Matthew 4. Will we abandon it all for the sake of the call?
Steven Curtis Chapman-For the Sake of the Call
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