Discipleship: God's Plan for Reaching the WorldSample

What Is Discipleship?

Two thousand years ago, Jesus was walking alongside the Sea of Galilee when he saw two fishermen casting their nets into the water. He called out to them and said, ‘Come, follow me, and I will make you fishers of people’ (Mark 1:16-18). These two men dropped their nets and followed Jesus.

This moment might seem unremarkable to us, but it sparked a movement that transformed the course of human history. From the moment Simon and his brother, Andrew, threw their nets to the ground, their stories changed, as did the lives of the billions of people who followed after them.

What was it about this invitation that made this moment so pivotal? What would cause two hard-working men to drop their nets, the source of their income and identity, and follow a stranger everywhere he traveled?

In the time of Jesus, it was commonplace for the Jewish rabbis to invite people to ‘follow’ them and become their disciples. To be a rabbi’s disciple would be honorable and require the disciple to live with the rabbi, sit under his teachings, and imitate his way of living in the world. The ultimate passion of disciples was to mature into the same kind of person their rabbi was.

Did you notice Jesus did not invite Simon and Andrew to become Christians in this encounter? Instead, he called them to ‘follow’ him and become his disciples. It was an invitation to live with him, sit under his teachings, and practice his way of life.

They could not perceive the adventure they were about to embark on. They expected they were following a regular rabbi, but they were following the Son of God! Jesus was no ordinary man. He is the author and creator of life who points us in the way of life itself. When they accepted the invitation to follow him, they could not fully understand the transformative journey they were embarking on.

The same invitation Jesus extended to Simon and Andrew is the same invitation he grants us. He invites us to follow him and become his disciples. The difference is that we know who Jesus is—we know he is far greater than a typical rabbi and the Son of God.

Who better to emulate than the One who designed humanity? Who better to show us how to find life than Jesus Christ, who created life itself?

When we accept the invitation to follow him, we intentionally begin a journey toward transformation.

Application

There is a cost to genuinely following Jesus. Simon and Andrew had to drop their nets to follow him and become his disciples. The same is true for us today. We all have nets that we need to drop to follow Jesus.

What is in the way for you becoming a devoted follower and disciple of Jesus Christ?

After reading through today’s Scripture readings, take some time to pray and ask God to reveal the things in your life preventing you from following him with all your heart. Surrender these things to him and choose to follow him today with all your life.