As a young adult, marriage never crossed my mind. Not once did I give the possibility of children a thought. My vision, my plan for my life was something altogether different. Yet, something happened. And it wasn’t what I had envisioned. In fact, looking in the proverbial mirror I do not see the man I was before, nor the man that I thought myself to be. I see a new man. A man much different than the one of my dreams. And herein lies the deep truth of of the mystery of life. In my own experience I have seen myself changed, transformed, made new. And it wasn’t of my doing. Someone else had a hand in it, and I thank Him for it each day.
He has shown me that His plan for me, His vision of me at my fullest potential as a child of God, is greater than I could have ever imagined. For He made me for glory. Not my glory, but His. To be made in His image is not to shine on our own, but to bask in and reflect His glorious light. And not once, or a few times, but for all eternity. And it begins now.
As he passed by the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and his brother Andrew casting their nets into the sea; they were fishermen. Jesus said to them, “Come after me, and I will make you fishers of men.” Then they abandoned their nets and followed him.
~ Mark 1:16-18
Jesus called these men. He challenged them. Follow me, come with me, walk with me, and I will make you glorious, all you ever wanted to be. This simple encounter was not unique to these men. Yet, it was enough to inspire them to abandon their nets—their livelihood—to leave everything behind and follow Him. To put Him before everything else that before then had been important to them. They weren’t the first, nor were they the last to be called.
He walked along a little farther and saw James, the son of Zebedee, and his brother John. They too were in a boat mending their nets. Then he called them. So they left their father Zebedee in the boat along with the hired men and followed him.
~ Mark 1:19-20
These men too left it all behind to walk with this man Jesus. It seems fantastical, or even fanatical. To leave everything behind? Really!? Maybe it’s just a metaphor for spiritual enlightenment or philosophical inspiration. Not quite. Read the rest of the story. The Gospels and the Acts of the Apostles tell us about the effects of following this man. We watch them face difficulty, we see them faults and all. Then we watch as they are made glorious. They are transformed and give their entire lives over to this man and His mission.
It’s a great story. Inspirational. But it doesn’t end there. You too have been called. Called to leave everything behind. He didn’t say it would be easy. In fact, He said it would be hard. Really hard. But He promised to be with you always, in the good and the bad, until the end of the age (Mt 28:16). The invitation has been made, yet the choice remains in your hands. The ball is in your court.