16 And as He walked by the Sea of Galilee, He saw Simon and
Andrew his brother casting a net into the sea; for they were fishermen. 17 Then
Jesus said to them, “Follow Me, and I will make you become fishers of
men.” 18 They immediately left their nets and followed Him. Mark 1
Jesus does not just save us from
something; He calls us to something. Believers often describe their relationship
with Jesus simply as, “He saved me.” That’s true and we
praise God for His saving work on the cross! But the fact that Jesus saved
us is just the beginning of our testimony not the end.
The call of Jesus is “Follow Me.”
That is what Jesus asks you to do as a believer. The reason Jesus’
followers were called disciples is because they followed Him, learned from Him
and put His teaching into practice. That is “Christianity 101.”
I’m not sure what your version
of “Christianity 101” is, but if it doesn’t have “Follow
Me” right smack in the center of it, I challenge you to throw it out and replace
it with the “Follow Me” version. After all it’s the one
found in the Bible.
Following Jesus is simple,
but not easy. You don’t need your doctorate in theology to understand it
and do it. You simply read the Bible daily, listen to what Jesus says and put
His teachings in practice in your life. If He says to do it you do it, if He
says not to do it you don’t do it.
Following Jesus will change
your life. In deciding to be a follower of Jesus you’ll begin to know the
Lord in a way you’ve never known Him before. Walking in His footsteps
will bring you closer to Him. Your life will have a new sense of direction in
following Him.
Finally, don’t wait until you
get yourself “cleaned up” or get all your questions answered, Jesus calls you
to follow--drop everything and follow. Notice how Simon and Andrew responded to Jesus: “They immediately
left their nets and followed Him”. Your turn!
