Called to Serve 1

Matthew 4:18-22

Today I heard about a local pastor who would, on some Sundays, announce to his congregation that he had nothing to say. The service would then go on without a message.

That astounded me and truly disappointed me. I believe every pastor should have a message every Sunday and whenever he or she is asked to say something. A pastor should be ready to serve at all times. But really, if we are going to be Christians we must all be ready to serve at some point.

What was Jesus doing when he encountered Peter and Andrew? What were they doing? What about James and John? How did all four react to the summons?

Previous study on the disciples has caused me to believe that the four men summoned were no strangers of Jesus. It is quite likely that the two pairs of men were local fishing business men in Capernaum, a small town in which Jesus was a resident. Their status in the community, the small size of the town, and the fact that Jesus was likely a local teacher would mean they knew each other.

It is still remarkable, however, that a summons into a very challenging ministry would be received with such willingness from the fishermen. In fact, the idea that these men were responsible for successful businesses makes it even more remarkable that they would walk away from what they were doing so readily.

Yet in all four Gospel messages we have similar stories of Jesus summoning men to follow, and the men accept the challenge without hesitation or question. And it has always fascinated me that the people Jesus called were very common people. He did not call on great speakers or those who were political powerhouses.

And all of this means to me that none of us have any excuses for not serving God. We can all say that we are too busy. But the stories clearly state that these men were engaged in their business, yet they followed. We can all say that we have no talent. But the disciples were men who had no ministry experience until Jesus gave it to them.

Just as the twelve ordinary men called to be disciples followed Jesus and worked at ministry for him, each of us is called to serve God. We are called to drop what we are doing at some point or another and do something that serves the Lord. We need not worry about what we set aside, nor do we need to worry about our qualifications. God will give us what we need when we do our work for Him.

DAILY CHALLENGE: How will you respond when Jesus says, “Follow me”?