Today's Verse

And immediately they left their nets and followed him. — Mark 1:18 ESV

Devotion

Jesus was walking along the shores of the Sea of Galilee. He saw two fishermen casting a net into the sea. Their names were Simon and Andrew. He said to them, "Follow me, and I will make you become fishers of men." (Mark 1:17) Our verse for today tells us what they did in response: "And immediately they left their nets and followed him." A little further down the shore Jesus saw James and John, the sons of Zebedee, who were also fishermen. When Jesus called to them, they left their father and their boat, and immediately began following him as well. (Mark 1:19-20)

What about you? What happens when Jesus calls out to you? Do you answer the call, like the disciples did, immediately? Or, do you wait, waiver, or dawdle? Maybe you hear the call, but it doesn't make any sense to you and you fail to respond. Maybe you hear it and receive it with joy, but then you see what it's going to cost you and you fall away from it. Maybe, on the other hand, you hear it, but you get distracted by the problems of life and never follow through on it. (Matthew 13:18-22) Jesus may be calling, but, so you think to yourself, you're in the middle of a life.

No doubt, the disciples who heard Jesus' call that day could have come up with a multitude of reasons not to answer the call. They had nets and boats that they were responsible for, not to mention that they were invested in. They had relationships with family members, like Zebedee, that could not be left behind easily. They had lives, in other words, just like you and the rest of us. Nevertheless, they immediately left it all behind and followed Jesus. They perceived that their lives would never be the same and they were fine with that.

Jesus is calling. He's always calling. He's always calling you to follow him. His calls are not limited to the initial calls that lead to salvation. He issues calls for all sorts of endeavors in every area of life. Today, when the call of Jesus comes to you, when the window of opportunity opens up, respond to it immediately.

Respond to it, in other words, before the second-guessing, the doubts, the fears, and the troubles of life stop you from responding at all.