And Jesus said unto them, Come ye after me, and I will make you to become fishers of men (Mark 1:17).
This is our Lord's call to His disciples. He calls all to work for Him. It is only by coming after Him that we can successfully work for others. All who try to do spiritual work without that first requisite and preparation will fail miserably and be miserable while failing. No drudgery is worse than doing God's work with humanity's tools. No life is more unsatisfying than the life that God desires to use in His service, but that we will not surrender to Him. No work is more discouraging than to fish all night and catch nothing. Well it is for us in such a case if, like weary Peter, we say to the Master, "We have toiled all the night, and have taken nothing: nevertheless at thy word I will let down the net" (Luke 5:5).
When we obey the word of Christ, and fish on the right side of the ship, we enclose "a great multitude of fishes." This is the reward of obedience. The Lord's methods bring the Lord's results. Oh, how we long to be successful fishers for Christ! But we are tempted to use methods that He would never use. We may splash the water and wear our lives out in labor but never take a fish. If perchance we catch a few small ones, they slip away into the sea again.
We must follow after Jesus if we are to succeed. Sensationalism, entertainment, philosophy, etc.--in these things we are not coming after Jesus. Can we imagine the Lord Jesus gathering a crowd by these fleshly methods? We must keep to our fishing as our Master did. We must preach our Lord's doctrine, proclaim a full and free gospel, for this is the net in which souls are taken. We must preach with His boldness, gentleness, and love. We must work with the power of the Holy Spirit. We must come after Him--not run before Him, nor aside from Him--and then He will make us fishers of men.
MEDITATION PRAYER: "Lord, thou hast heard the desire of the humble: thou wilt prepare their heart" (Ps. 10:17).
This is our Lord's call to His disciples. He calls all to work for Him. It is only by coming after Him that we can successfully work for others. All who try to do spiritual work without that first requisite and preparation will fail miserably and be miserable while failing. No drudgery is worse than doing God's work with humanity's tools. No life is more unsatisfying than the life that God desires to use in His service, but that we will not surrender to Him. No work is more discouraging than to fish all night and catch nothing. Well it is for us in such a case if, like weary Peter, we say to the Master, "We have toiled all the night, and have taken nothing: nevertheless at thy word I will let down the net" (Luke 5:5).
When we obey the word of Christ, and fish on the right side of the ship, we enclose "a great multitude of fishes." This is the reward of obedience. The Lord's methods bring the Lord's results. Oh, how we long to be successful fishers for Christ! But we are tempted to use methods that He would never use. We may splash the water and wear our lives out in labor but never take a fish. If perchance we catch a few small ones, they slip away into the sea again.
We must follow after Jesus if we are to succeed. Sensationalism, entertainment, philosophy, etc.--in these things we are not coming after Jesus. Can we imagine the Lord Jesus gathering a crowd by these fleshly methods? We must keep to our fishing as our Master did. We must preach our Lord's doctrine, proclaim a full and free gospel, for this is the net in which souls are taken. We must preach with His boldness, gentleness, and love. We must work with the power of the Holy Spirit. We must come after Him--not run before Him, nor aside from Him--and then He will make us fishers of men.
MEDITATION PRAYER: "Lord, thou hast heard the desire of the humble: thou wilt prepare their heart" (Ps. 10:17).
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