What’s my purpose in life?

In review of Mark 1:16-20 it says, "16 One day as Jesus was walking along the shore of the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and his brother Andrew throwing a net into the water, for they fished for a living. 17 Jesus called out to them, “Come, follow me, and I will show you how to fish for people!” 18 And they left their nets at once and followed him. 19 A little farther up the shore Jesus saw Zebedee’s sons, James and John, in a boat repairing their nets. 20 He called them at once, and they also followed him, leaving their father, Zebedee, in the boat with the hired men."

In today’s passage we see Mark’s account of Jesus calling the first disciples. We can see it happens as Jesus is going about his day. He sees Simon, Andrew, James and John doing their work. He offers them this invitation: Come, follow me, and I will show you have to fish for people.” We see them readily accept, they “left their nets at once and followed.”  This invitation is open for me as well, I have the opportunity to; Come, follow him, and allow him to show me how to fish for men.

When Jesus recruits his first followers, this close-knit group of small-business owners who run a fishing operation, he dangles his own enticing bait: “Come, follow me, and I will show you how to fish for people!” Like most, these men likely identified themselves by their occupation; what we do defines who we are. So Jesus appeals to the deepest place in their soul; the place where their identity lives, when he offers to reorient their purpose in life. What if, he asks, and I could trade my small dreams for a big one?

What if I was created to be a source, of rescue and redemptive hope for others, to help capture others from a dark sea of hopelessness and drag them into a boat of refuge, where they can find the life they were created to live?

What I’m learning is that one of my big purposes in life is to love God with all that I am, and to love others with the same passion that Jesus has for them. I was created to “fish for people,” no matter what my particular calling in life is.

Today, I thank you Jesus for your invitation to be part of building your kingdom and making an internal difference in the lives of those around me. Jesus wants me to also accept his invitation and be a messenger for others. I need to actively embrace the part about being a messenger.

Bottom Line:

Jesus invites us for a purpose.

What this means to me:

Jesus invites four men to a closer relationship where they can be trained to share the good news and used to multiply others who will in turn do the same. He invites me to do the same.