Fishers of Men
“As he was walking by the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon who is called Peter, and his brother Andrew, casting a net into the sea; they were fishermen. He said to them, “Come after me, and I will make you fishers of men.” At once they left their nets and followed him.”
~ Matthew 4:18-20
Can you imagine dropping everything you have, leave your family and friends and follow someone without questioning? I am not sure how I would have reacted to this call of Jesus if I was there at the time. Now, I think what if that is what He is asking me to do that now. Are we still called to do the same. Abandon those things around us and serve Him. Some people do just that. They enter the religious life and leave a lot behind to follow His call. Even some people of the laity take this call on as well.
That call is just for the religious or is it a call for all of us? I say it is all of our calls to some degree. The way we all approach it may be different but the message is still the same. We are all called to preach the Gospel to those around us. It is not just by our mouths do we preach the Gospel Message of Jesus but it also with our hands. We preach by our actions as well. When we are involved in ministering to those around us we are preaching to them. We are giving freely of ourselves. Our gifts and talents are used to share what we have been given to us by our Lord.
Some of us are called to use our mouths to spread the message of salvation through Jesus Christ. We stand as witnesses of the truth that lies in us. That sharing is planting those seeds of faith that may take root in their hearts and souls. When we are preaching the Good News make sure that you are being a witness and not being the judge. Speak as if you are on the witness stand and just state the facts of the Gospel and the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth. Do not hand down damnation but offer up salvation. Too many times people are turned off because of this kind of witnessing/judgement. Jesus did not judge those, He sat down with them and shared His message. We are to do the same.
Others of us share the message of salvation with our hands. We become the hands and feet here on earth. We feed the hungry, clothe the naked, give drink to the thirsty, build shelters for the homeless and offer our hand to those who need a way to stand. If we are not doing this for the true love from our hearts then it is meaningless. It will come across to those who we are helping if it is not genuine and coming from a place of pity and not of love of our fellow brothers and sisters in Christ. Being able to serve those who are not as fortunate as others will become more of a blessing for those who serve then is being served. We are allowing Jesus to not only live in our hearts but to work in us and through us in His name.
No matter where we are in our spiritual journey we are called to do this for our fellow brothers and sisters in Christ. Also we also can and need to be ministered to as well. No one is greater then another on this journey of salvation. We all can learn from each other no matter how far or short your journey has been. The call of discipleship is waiting to be answered by everyone. No matter what plan you have that call is free for the taking.
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