Before You Go, Simply Be

Most of us have been called to dinner.

"Dinner's ready! Come and get it!" 

We've also been called when it was time to go somewhere.

"Hurry up! Let's go! We're gonna be late!"

Some of us have even been called names. Some endearing, and some, not so much.




Christ called the first disciples using two simple words: 

Follow Me.

Jesus invited these ordinary men to walk with Him, sit with Him, live life with Him, and learn from Him.

And Jesus, walking by the Sea of Galilee, saw two brothers, Simon called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea; for they were fishermen. Then He said to them, "Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men. They immediately left their nets and followed Him (Matthew 4:18-20 NKJV).

In the Gospel According to Luke, there is more to the story. Large crowds are pressing in around Jesus to hear the word of God. There are so many people that He asked a fisherman named Simon, who was cleaning his nets, to take Him out in his boat a ways so He could speak to the multitudes easier. After He finished speaking, He performed a miracle by telling the fisherman to put down their nets. Stating that they hadn't caught any fish all day, Simon agreed to still comply with the Master's request. Alarmed at the large catch of fish in their nets, they shout for their fellow fishermen to come and help them. Simon Peter falls on his knees in the presence of Jesus, for he truly sees himself as he really is for the first time. After the boats had been brought into the shore, four exhausted, nasty, stinky fishermen drop everything, leaving all behind to be with Christ. (See Luke 5:1-11)

And today, Jesus is still calling us to the same.

To be in His presence - settling into the sacred place where we see Him for who He is and ourselves in the Light of His glory; where we renew our minds with His Word. There's no greater invitation in all the world than to be invited by the Creator of the Universe, the King of kings, to come and be with Him.

Being with Jesus is the safest, most secure place to bring our realness.

There's no pretending because He already knows our weaknesses.
There are no masks because He sees our hearts.
There's just being with the One who knows us best, loves us most, and will complete what He started.

I love the picture chosen for this blog because it speaks of the sweet intimacy Christ offers us. Can't you just hear Jesus saying, "Here. Have a seat. Come sit with Me a while." It gives me a sense of Ahhh and awe as I humbly and gratefully slide into my reserved seat. 

Being with Christ is the essence of a real disciple's life.  

It's in His Word and through the power of prayer that:

• our ears hear His tender voice
• our minds are washed with the Word
• our souls are refreshed
• we confess and converse with the Lover of our soul

You see, we can't go make disciples without being with the Master Discipler. The two go hand-in-hand. We've put so much emphasis on the nets (evangelism) - the how-to-get-saved part, that we've ignored the crucial and best part of discipleship  - The stop-drop-everything-and-be-with-Christ part. (And that includes our nets.)

Jesus is all about being with His followers and His followers being with Him. Seems to me that our nets would naturally catch more if we would be intentional about being with Christ.

Are you missing out on the part that will make you a much better fisher of people?
Then have a seat at the table. He's inviting you to simply be.

My Pleasure,
Melanie

Picture credit: Pixabay.com