Go They Must

“And straightway they forsook their nets, and followed him.” (Mr 1:18 AV)

Today is both an exciting day, but also a sad day.  Today, my son and his wife are taking our grandchildren to the land of Brazil to serve the LORD as foreign missionaries.  It is a sad day because we will miss them terribly.  It is a glad day because the LORD has decided to use them for His service.  There will be remorse because a large portion of our lives will change.  But it is also exciting to consider all the adventures that await them as they seek to serve our great God.  I look forward in the very near future to the video calls as we hear what the LORD is accomplishing through them.  Churches will be started and souls saved in parts of the world that have no gospel witness.  How exciting.  When we read the passage above, we never consider a simple truth.  When the LORD called the twelve, they immediately left their occupation to serve the LORD.  They dropped their lives, left their families, and followed Christ without even so much as a few months lapse.  It was immediate.  For this to happen, there is something we need to consider.

For these twelve men to drop what they were doing and follow Christ had to require two things.  First, they had to have some knowledge of who Christ was and what his ministry might be like.  This most likely happened at the baptism of John. Perhaps they were there when the Spirit descended and the voice of God spoke from heaven.  Second, the Spirit had to have been dealing with their heart to prepare them for this calling.  Thoughts of inadequacy of purpose as they fished for food.  A feeling of bigger purpose if suffering persecution while collecting taxes.  An understanding that doctoring the flesh when it was going to die anyway was not nearly as high of a calling as doctoring the soul. Whatever the means, they were ready when the LORD called and they had to go away immediately.

But what of the families they left behind?  What of Zebedee?  He lost two sons to the ministry.  What of Mary?  She lost two sons to the ministry.  What of them?  As hard as it may be, there is no holding back the call of God.  One must go if called.  One cannot delay.  As soon as the LORD calls, one must drop those things in life that are a hinderance to that calling and go.  So, we will miss you terribly, Zack, Steph, Kaitlyn, Remi, and Chole.  But you have to go!  It is the LORD calling.  Drop the nets and go.  We are so humbled at the opportunity it has been to be a part of your lives, being one small piece of a grand divine plan to shape you for this moment.  God is good.  But go you must.  We will pray for you every day!  Count on it.  But go!