Heaven is consumed with winning lost souls to the Kingdom. That’s what the cross was all about. Jesus’ public ministry centered around that as well. God also wants us to be all about that. All of heaven rejoices when a sinner repents and accepts Christ as Savior.
Walking by the Sea of Galilee, Jesus saw two brothers Simon and Andrew. They were casting their nets into the sea fishing. He said to them, “Follow Me, and I will make you become fishers of men” (Mark 1:17, NASB).
Through the Scriptures, Jesus is saying these same words to you and me. In fact, His words to Simon and Andrew effectively summarize the message of the four records of the Gospel.
Following Jesus and being a fisher of men are mutually inclusive. It is not possible to be a follower of Christ and not become a fisher of men. He was preoccupied with this cause during His public ministry. If we follow His footsteps they will lead us on the same journey.
So many people in our cities and communities need to know Christ. The crime, murder and racial tension in our cities attest to this. Of course, it behooves us to do what we can to address some of the underlying reasons for this unrest. But Christ is the only real answer to the problem. Through Him, lives are miraculously changed.
Getting Serious About Following Jesus
Those who follow Jesus walk in love and not hate and crime. Accordingly, the Church holds the key to making this world a better place. Through the gospel, we can make our cities, nation, and world better one changed life at a time.
However, Jesus said the harvest is plentiful but the laborers are few (Matthew 9:37). That same situation exists today.
The problem is not that we don’t have enough people who claim to be Christians. Or that we have a shortage of people occupying the pews each Saturday or Sunday. But what we have are too few among them who have seriously accepted Jesus’ invitation to “follow Me.”
Merely accepting Christ as your Savior is not enough to make you a fisher of men. But first you must become a follower of Christ. Therein lies the importance of discipleship in our local churches.
Trying to make a fisher of men out of someone who is not committed to following Christ is like trying to push a rope. But when a genuine commitment to follow Him exists, soul-winning will be the result.
Copyright © 2022 by Frank King. All rights reserved.