The other night at the small group that I attend, the leader of our group taught on Jesus’ calling of his first disciples. In this story from Matthew 4, Jesus was walking by the Sea of Galilee when he saw two brothers, Simon, called Peter, and his brother, Andrew. They were casting a net into the lake because they were fishermen. Jesus said to them, “Follow me and I will make you fishers of men.” At once they left their nets and followed Jesus (Matthew 4:18-20).
We then engaged in a brief discussion about the relationship between fishing and evangelism. We talked about how fishermen use different bait for different kinds of fish, the application being that we need different approaches for different kinds of people. Someone said that the command was to fish, but not necessarily to catch, so we shouldn’t be discouraged if no one responds to our witness.
The longer we talked about fishing, the more it occurred to me that Jesus never would have gotten me (or most people I know) to follow him by saying, “Follow me and I will make you fishers of men.” The fact is I have gone fishing exactly three times in my life. My last attempt at fishing resulted in my spending almost the entire time untangling my line after an errant cast. After 30 minutes of untangling the line, I said to the guy who took me, “I can see why people love to fish. This is so relaxing!”
Jesus said, “Follow me and I will make you fishers of men,” to fishermen! In other words, these men already had a certain desire and drive in their hearts, to fish! Jesus took that desire and elevated it to a higher plain. He said in effect, “What you’ve always wanted to do and to be, that fishing only hinted at, I will fulfill if you follow me.”
So I asked the individuals in our group a few simple questions: What is it that caused you to select the career that you are currently in? What is the thing that you love most about your job? What’s the driver?
One of our members is a hair stylist. I asked her, “Why did you choose to be a stylist?” She said, “I love making people beautiful. I love creating the positive feelings that women have about themselves when they look in the mirror after I get done with their hair.” So I said, “Then Jesus would say to you, ‘Follow me and I will enable you to make women truly beautiful not only on the outside, but on the inside, too. You will be able to give the gift of beauty, the gift you’ve always wanted to give in the fullest way possible, if you follow me.’” She began to cry and said, “This is what I’ve always wanted!”
I asked a physicist in our group, “Why did you choose to get a Ph.D. in physics?” He said, “That’s easy – discovery! What drives me is the opportunity for new discovery.” So I said to him, “Maybe Jesus would say to you, ‘Follow me and I will give you the opportunity to search out and discover even deeper things, not only about the creation, but about the Creator.’”
We went around the room and talked about what each of us saw as the essential motivator in our lives. For some, it had nothing to do with their jobs. For example, one woman said, “What motivates me is the opportunity to be a support person for people who otherwise would not have support.” She mentioned that just the week before she drove an hour from Columbus to Mansfield in the snow to celebrate a friend’s recent achievement because she knew that her friend had no one else who would celebrate with her.
Here are some questions for you: What is the central drive in your life that motivates you to do your particular job, or your particular acts of service? Do you know yourself well enough to immediately identify your drive? If not, ask Jesus to help you understand yourself better and really know the fundamental desires of your own heart.
But here’s a deeper question: How might Jesus want to fulfill the desires of your heart?
Each of us is uniquely and wonderfully made by God. No one is exactly like you or like me. No one has all of our life experiences, our particular gifts or our opportunities. So if Jesus came to the unique creation that is you, he would say, “Follow me and I will make you…what?”