The Gospels are chock-full of what I like to call ‘precipitous moments’. These are moments in time where something was said or something was done that would change humanity from that point on. One of my favorite precipitous moments is found in Luke 5:1-11. It is the account of when Jesus calls his first disciples. I think this is one of the defining moments in the kingdom of God. It is a defining moment because it is where God decided to involve man in his plan to redeem the world. Jesus is a man, but he was a supernatural man. In this encounter, God calls simple working men, with all their frailty and corrupted tendencies to take part in the reconciliation of creation to God. I think we often miss just how monumental that is.
In the beginning of the passage, you find Jesus standing by a lake. It is the lake of Genesaret, or the Sea of Galilee. I love the picture that emerges. On one hand, the picuture seems serene. I personally have spent many a theraputic hour standing at the edge of a large body of water just staring out into the water, watching the wind and the clouds and the land interact in their way. But in this case, the atmosphere around Jesus was anything but peaceful. The crowds were there. They were drawn by the stir that Jesus was causing with his message and his miracles. Each one wanted a front row seat to whatever he may say or do next. It is easy to imagine that the clamor and push-pull of the crowd would have been irritating to Jesus. I imagine he was relieved when he saw the boats, and the familiar faces of their owners.
We know from John 1 that this was not the first encounter Jesus had with these men. They had been followers of John the Baptist, and had spent some time with Jesus. I like to think that their encounter here was a natural, friendly conversation. I imagine Jesus calling to Simon, “Hey Rock! This crowd is killing me. Can you push me out a bit so I can address the crowd and have a little space?” I imagine that Simon-Peter was only too happy to do so. He was a man in search of the Kingdom himself, having been a disciple of John and having heard Jesus speak before. If it weren’t for work, he may have been among the crowd already. Here was a great chance for him to take a break and see what the Teacher would speak about today.
From all I can gather, up until this point Jesus’ relationship with these four fishermen on the Sea of Tiberius was a friendly one, but not much more than a loose association. There is no doubt that they knew each other, and we even see in the first chapter of John (vs 42) that when Jesus met Simon, he immediately nick-named him Peter, or Rock. However, that relationship was about to change.
After Jesus finished speaking to the crowd, he has an odd request for his friend Peter. He tells Peter to put out into the deep water and throw in his net. Peter begins to argue, and from what he says, it is understandable. They have been out fishing all night and hadn’t caught anything. They had probably just finished washing the net, and he was reluctant to have to begin the whole process over again. But Peter is no stranger to Jesus or his power, and he responds that because it is Jesus, he will give it a shot.
Sure enough, when Peter lets down the net they get such a catch that it begins to sink the boat. Not only that but they catch so many fish that both Peter’s boat and the one that came to help them haul in the load of fish nearly sink under the load. When they get back to shore, it is clear that Jesus has performed yet another miracle, and I think Peter’s initial reaction is interesting. As the four men stand there with Jesus, Peter’s first instinct is to withdraw. He says, “Depart form me, for I am a sinful man, O lord.” But instead of leaving, Jesus extends an offer that will change the course of human purpose. He says, “Do not be afraid; from now on you will be catching men.”
It then says they left everything, and followed him.
This calling and response is a glorious one. First, like I mentioned before, I think that it is simply fascinating that God would include man in his work to redeem the world. But this calling comes with an offer. If you follow me, you will be catching men. Jesus is offering something greater than fish. Here Jesus extends an invitation to these men to come and build a Kingdom. They drop everything they are and have, and follow Jesus into the unknown.
I suppose that the decision to follow Jesus cost these men something. It cost them their livelihood, whatever prospects they had for their future, maybe some property, definitely their identity in the community. Their whole reality was about to change. Their example of following can teach us a lot. In our pursuit of Christ, we have to put our money where our mouth is.
As I read this story and think about what it means for life in pursuit of God, I think that there are offered two truths that cannot be ignored. The first is that belief is not real unless it is connected to the day to day working of life’s reality. If what we claim to believe does not have traction in the hour to hour dealings of our lives, it is only an imaginary belief. It does not exist. The second is that following is not real unless it is connected to motion. Watching is not the same as following. In order to follow, there must be a pursuit. This means action.
In the world today, the main beef that secular people have against Christians is that they are hypocrites. That they do not act in a manner that reflects what they claim they believe. Unfortunately they are correct. Far too often we do not let what we say we believe fully trickle down into the gritty little things of life. For some reason, we leave God out of the details. We shouldn’t.
When a person gives their life to Christ, something must be left behind. And then begins the pursuit. I think that many times our unwillingness to give God jurisdiction over our whole lives directly impedes God’s ability to build the kingdom through us. Think of what you left behind when you chose to follow Christ. Is it still behind, or have you taken it up again? Where has the pursuit of God taken you? What ground have you covered? Or, are you still right in the same place you were when you accepted the invitation? Answering these questions in real terms gives us insight into whether or not we are real believers or just imaginary ones; real followers or imaginary followers. There must be evidence of motion.
The truth is, the Kingdom of God is meant to be much more than we have made it. More than we have settled for. We have been content to put off spiritual things, dismissing the Kingdom to the realm of the afterlife, forgetting that he says “Come and see.” He demands we follow, and that means leaving behind the old way of thinking. The old identities. The old habits and patterns. He wants to teach us an entirely new way of being.
A well known hunter once said “In order to experience fantastic things, you have to put yourself in fantastic places.” I think the saying holds true. If we as the Church are going to experience all of what Christ offers, the fantastic kingdom of God manifested here on earth, we must be willing to fight to see his kingdom established first in our hearts and minds. We must push past what has been done before. We have to open dusty doors and let the light of Christ shine into all areas of life. There is always risk involved. Every valuable thing demands a high price.
So today I ask myself and challenge all to ask themselves these three questions. Think hard about the answers. The Kingdom depends on it:
1. Have I left anything of the self-life behind to follow Christ? What specifically?
2. What ground have I covered in my pursuit? What valleys have I crossed? What mountain tops?
3. What lengths am I really willing to go to in order to see the Kingdom of Christ built? Are there things I am unwilling to leave behind? Places I am unwilling to go?
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