Immediately they left their nets and followed Him. (Matthew 4:20).
I have been thinking about my second son today.
He is a lovely little boy, who really does like to drag his feet all the way through every single unpleasant task that he is given. When he is given some homework to complete for school, he spends the first three or four hours complaining about how much of his time the homework will take and then about fifteen minutes completing his work. When he is asked to complete some chore around the home, he spends half a day trying to talk his way out of it, and five minutes actually completing that dreaded task.
As you might imagine, his lack of enthusiasm for even the most simple and quick tasks can be problematic in a family where the mother is always running around like a crazy person trying to get things done. And I have been thinking about that child and his lack of immediacy as I have been reflecting on the vocation of the apostles.
“As He walked by the Sea of Galilee, He saw two brothers, Simon who is called Peter and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea; for they were fishermen. And He said to them, ‘Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.’ Immediately they left their nets and followed Him. And going on from there He saw two other brothers, James the son of Zebedee and John his brother, in the boat with Zebedee their father, mending their nets, and he called them. Immediately they left the boat and their father, and followed Him.” (Matthew 4:18-22)
And now, I imagine another scenario. I imagine what would have happened if those apostles had not jumped up away from their nets immediately?
What would the course of the world looked like if the apostles had said, “Hold on a minute, I just want to think about this?” What would have happened if they had heard the Holy Voice of God and then decided that they needed a moment to think about it?
And it seems – with hindsight – so far-fetched to imagine the world like that. In fact it seems so bizarre that it almost seems ridiculous to question it. After all, those men were apostles – that means that OF COURSE they acted immediately when Christ called them.
But today I have come to realise that they were not just apostles – they were MEN, just as I am a WOMAN. And that means something.
That means, that just as they are apostles, so too am I. That means that just as Christ called then, so too does He call me. And I have been thinking about that today. Because I can suddenly see all the excuses that I have been making all my life, just so that I do not do anything immediately. And it occurs to me today, that just as I get frustrated with my second son when he drags his feet for the duties that I ask of him, I too must frustrate the infinite patience of my Beloved for doing the same thing when He asks things of me.
And that makes me give thanks today. For mine is an awesome God – King of Endless Glory.
For with prayer, I stand on Holy Ground where everything is clear. Here. At the Foot of the Cross.
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