Come and Follow Me

Once a week, we gather together to study the book of Mark together with Steve Klassen. He's a pretty incredible guy - lots to learn from this man and actually wrote a devotional/study guide through the Gospel of Mark. Not only that, he can also recite most of Mark by memory. I think that's pretty impressive.

The book of Mark is a pretty neat book. There are so many neat themes that run through it, but a big one is being a disciple of Christ and we see this theme start to take shape right from the first chapter.

"Jesus called out to them, "Come and follow me and I will make you fishers of men".

~ Mark 1: 17

There are 3 huge parts to this very short verse that have meant a lot to me.
The first part is "Come and follow me", which is an invitation by Jesus that invites us into relationship with him. We don't have to do anything for Jesus to want to be in relationship with us. He just loves us that much!
The second part is "and I will make you". This is a promise by Jesus that he can change us and transform us. This transformation does not happen by my own doing, but by God's. Thank goodness and what a relief! Jesus wants to take us on and transform us into his likeness. I have been learning this particular lesson a lot this week. It's taken me 6 years to allow transformation to take place, but I have finally surrendered myself and my right to do the transforming. God is working me over big time. He is breaking me and stripping away parts of me that are not from Him so that my personal holiness is more in tune with God's. It's a painful process, but I am thankful that I serve a God who does not give up on me and who is more than ok dealing with my worst parts to transform them into something more holy.
The third part is "fishers of men". This has to do with crossing barriers. Jesus could cross barriers like no one else could and he invites us to do the same. Jesus crossed relational, cultural, social and gender barriers. He was never afraid to speak the truth. Sometimes we are called to do things or say things that go against our cultures, but are necessary to advance God's work - both in our lives and in the lives of those around us. Again, this is not always a comfortable thing, but God never promised that being a disciple of Christ was going to be easy.

The words "Come follow me and I will make you fishers of men" are simple words, but they carry significant implications that I want to make a part of my story. I want my life to be that of striving to be more Christ-like through relationship with Jesus knowing that as I seek the likeness and heart of Christ that I will be transformed, enabling me to cross all sorts of barriers. I want to strive for more personal holiness. May God be gracious and merciful to me.