They forsook their nets, and followed him.
- St. Mark 1:18
Being two points away from losing the women's singles match of the U.S. Open Championship a few days ago, Serena Williams rebounded with a burst of energy to defeat Victoria Azarenka of Belarus, thus creating a three-set final, the last of which was seen in 1995. At one point, the net antagonized Serena and she said at her celebration that she had already begun to prepare her runner-up speech, as it seemed that Victoria was headed to victory.
In tennis, one has to keep the ball over the net or from hitting into it. Many times with precision, speed and skill and the right play, one can "drop" the ball just over the net for a great play. In business, net is the value or price left after tax or other deductions are made. For the fisherman, it is one of the tools of their trade, and yet for many someone is trying to "swing you" or get you tangled up with someone or something that is very much against your wellbeing.
Our text today takes us after Jesus had been baptized by John The Baptist, gone through his 40-day wilderness experience and temptation by Satan. He began by selecting men who would serve with him in His Ministry.
"Now as he walked by the sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and Andrew, his brother, casting a net into the sea: for they were fishers. And Jesus said unto them, 'Come ye after me and I will make you to become fishers of men'. And straightway they forsook their nets and followed him."
What an act of obedience, faith trust and hope. These brothers left their nets, their ship, their hired hands and their father - they left all to follow Jesus. This is the only dedication that Jesus requires for one to leave all to follow him. Leaving all does not mean abandonment, but rather total commitment to his teachings, for "no man can serve two masters - he will hate the one and love the other."
How many of you as you read today are aware that Jesus is calling out to you to leave your nets of worry, frustration, care and anger? Sometimes when I look at the faces of some, you can see the "net" of discouragement, disillusionment, doubt and despair entangling the hope of their future.
To follow Christ is far better than following misguided men and women with no sense of direction and no purpose for the journey called "life". He's calling you to leave your nets of adultery, fornication, promiscuity, jealousy, greed, avarice and hate. Oh, the many nets that get in the way of us not following Jesus.
At a recent funeral service, the pastor called on all those who "dye" their hair to cease and desist and let their gray be seen. In other words he was calling for the leaving of "dye nets". I smiled to myself as I was all "Bigen-ed" up - Lord have mercy!
All of us are familiar with our drawback nets. Paul said that we are not to let little things easily beset us, but we must press towards the mark of the high calling which is in Christ Jesus. As a nation, we must leave the nets of self-righteousness and selfishness. We must leave the nets of crime, violence, stealing and lying. We must leave the net of ingratitude and dishonesty. One goes out of their way to help a person(s) who claims to be in "need" and they turns around and steals your very "eye" out of your head by fraudulent deeds and actions. We must leave the nets of poor and base character. We must leave the nets of the absence of faith and values in our lives.
There is a call going out today by many voices - the voice of wrong and the voice of right. Whose voice are you going to listen to and whose call are you going to accept? It is my prayer that you leave those burdened nets behind you and follow The Christ whose yoke is easy and burden is light.
o E-mail rubyanndarling@yahoo.com write to P.O. Box 19725 SS Nassau, Bahamas with your prayer requests, concerns and comments. God's Blessings.
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