Responding to the Call of Jesus, Part 1

Scripture — Mark 1:16-17 (NRSV)

As Jesus passed along the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and his brother Andrew casting a net into the sea—for they were fishermen. And Jesus said to them, “Follow me and I will make you fish for people.”

Devotion

Those of us who are familiar with the ministry of Jesus can take for granted the fact that he called his disciples. But Jesus’s initiative would have surprised people in his time, including but not limited to those whom he called to follow him. Religious teachers in the time of Jesus didn’t recruit their own students. Rather, they received those who sought them out and asked to become followers. Jesus, by contrast, chose the ones whom he wanted to be his disciples.

Do you think of someone who has been called by Jesus to follow him? Often, we tend to think that being a Christian involves our decision to put our faith in Jesus. Of course, there is a sense in which this is true. But from another perspective, we belong to Jesus because he sought us out, much as he did his first followers. We are Christians because God reached out to us in love and grace, helping us to respond in faith and obedience. We are Christians because the Spirit of God stirred in our hearts when we heard the good news of God’s love in Christ.

Given our cultural tendency to think of religion as something we choose according to our own preferences, the notion that God called us first might be a little surprising, perhaps even off-putting. Are we saying that we are not in charge of our own faith? Are we mainly responders, not initiators of our faith? Actually, yes, we are saying these things. Or, rather, that’s what Jesus is saying. Remember the core of his proclamation is that the kingdom of God is at hand. The kingdom of God, the rule of God, the reign of God . . . the sovereignty of God stands at the center of Jesus’s teaching. Therefore, it makes sense that we are followers of Jesus, first and foremost, because of God’s initiative, God’s call.

Our response matters, of course. But the more we remember the call of Jesus, the more we will be prepared to follow him wherever he leads. Moreover, we will live with gratitude, knowing that our faith and life in Christ are not things we make happen in our own strength. Rather, they are responses to God’s grace, God’s desire to be in a relationship with us.

Find all Life for Leaders devotions here. Explore what the Bible has to say about work at the unique website of our partners, the Theology of Work Project. Reflection on today’s Life for Leaders theme can be found here: Mark 1:16–20. Fishing for People.