“Now as Jesus was walking by the Sea of Galilee, He saw two brothers, Simon who was 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. 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 4:17-22). Peter, Andrew, James and John dropped their nets and followed Jesus as they became fishers of men. Jesus does not demand that every disciple become a preacher but every follower must make Jesus Lord of their life in order to be saved.

I feel sorry for the rich, young, ruler (Matthew 19:16-30; Luke 18:18-30). Imagine being that close to Jesus and refuse to follow Him, in spite of knowing that Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life (John 14:6). No wonder his face fell and he went away grieving (Mark 10:22). His wealth stood between him and God – and he knew it. He chose and settled for this life and forfeited eternal life – very bad choice! Jesus didn’t tell everyone to give away all their money and possessions; however, this man’s wealth was number one in his life, and God will not have any gods before Him (Exodus 20:3).

In John 6:66-68 people following Jesus were all in as long as He took care of their physical needs; however, they were not about to make a total commitment to follow Jesus if He demanded they give up living life their way to follow Him. They wanted a King who protected them and fed them but not a Lord who demanded total allegiance. John records, “As a result of this many of His disciples withdrew and were not walking with Him anymore. So Jesus said to the twelve, “You do not want to go away also, do you?” Simon Peter answered Him, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have words of eternal life”. Some disciples quit following Jesus but Peter and the other apostles were totally committed to following Jesus.

That being said, let’s not get the idea that Peter and company never messed up – that there were no chinks in their spiritual armor at any time. Let’s remember that we must be totally committed to following Jesus if we are to be His disciples, but let’s also remember that NO ONE followed Jesus perfectly all the time with no bad “spiritual hair days”. The bible is very explicit to point out that only Jesus lived a perfect life of dedicated obedience to the Father.

So what are we to do? Keep repenting every day, keep rededicating ourselves every day, keep dying to ourselves every day, and keep asking God for forgiveness every day. I love the phrase: “radical demands for reckless abandonment of our lives”. We can’t be perfect but we can (and must) be totally committed to following Jesus so that we are honestly able to say, “Jesus, You can have me”. And Jesus says, “If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross daily and follow Me” (Luke 9:23). Every day rededicate yourself to following Jesus. Who knows – maybe today is the day you get it right 100%!!!

Read Luke 5:1-11 and Galatians 2:20. Then listen to You Can Have Me by Sidewalk Prophets. Follow that by following Jesus with reckless abandonment of your will in submission to His teachings.

Luke 5:1-11

One day as Jesus was standing by the Lake of Gennesaret, the people were crowding around him and listening to the word of God. He saw at the water’s edge two boats, left there by the fishermen, who were washing their nets. He got into one of the boats, the one belonging to Simon, and asked him to put out a little from shore. Then he sat down and taught the people from the boat.

When he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, “Put out into deep water, and let down the nets for a catch.”

Simon answered, “Master, we’ve worked hard all night and haven’t caught anything. But because you say so, I will let down the nets.”

When they had done so, they caught such a large number of fish that their nets began to break. So they signaled their partners in the other boat to come and help them, and they came and filled both boats so full that they began to sink.

When Simon Peter saw this, he fell at Jesus’ knees and said, “Go away from me, Lord; I am a sinful man!” For he and all his companions were astonished at the catch of fish they had taken, and so were James and John, the sons of Zebedee, Simon’s partners.

Then Jesus said to Simon, “Don’t be afraid; from now on you will fish for people.” So they pulled their boats up on shore, left everything and followed him.

Galatians 2:20

I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.