“’Come, follow me,’ Jesus said, ‘and I will make you fishers of men’.” —MATTHEW 4:20

The idea of becoming ‘fishers of men’ may sound intimidating to many people, but it is actually a very exciting business with the unexpected happening in the course of our everyday lives.

The vast and rapid spread of the Gospel is rooted very humbly and simply with Jesus meeting everyday people. As He was walking alongside the Sea of Galilee, He called Simon, his brother Andrew, and two other brothers, James and John, all fishermen, and He used a very natural analogy, “I will make you fishers of men.”

In making us fishers of men, Jesus wasn’t saying He would turn us into evangelists, missionaries or someone in full time ministry, though many are. Often, it’s just one person He puts in our path at any given moment. Becoming fishers of men is a day-to-day trusting in Christ and learning to sense His leading.

The marvellous thing is that Jesus will take our natural interests, gifts and skills, and give them a spiritual dimension and function. Paul was an arch enemy of the church, organizing, mobilizing and leading the arrest of Christians, and those very skills enabled him to become the church planter and great apostle he became. Peter, the fisherman, became a greater fisherman spiritually. He was the evangelist preacher on the Day of Pentecost and the first to lead a Gentile to Christ.

We need not be intimidated or reluctant to serve God because we fear He’ll want us to be someone we’re not. To the contrary, the analogy of a fisherman has a unique application with the principle being that what we are and where we are gifted and energized are the areas God will use to work through us. Very often spiritual gifts are natural gifts, energized by the Holy Spirit for spiritual ends. This is what makes us ‘missional’ people, serving God whenever the opportunity arises.

Discipleship is recognizing that, as Christians, we are called by God and therefore equipped by God to be outward looking and that will often take us by surprise. We never know who we’ll meet, but the Spirit will lead us to the right person at the right time. It might simply be an act of kindness or a few thoughtful words to someone who is hurting. Then suddenly our prayers come alive with names attached and a sense of urgency about them. It may not happen quickly. It is a process with steps forward and backwards as it was for the disciples, but nothing deepens our walk with God more than serving Him, and nothing brings us more joy than having helped someone in their journey to Christ.

PRAYER: Dear Lord, I pray for your direction in helping me to be a ﬁsher of men, women and children, and ask for many opportunities to lead others to You.

TO REFLECT UPON: In what way(s) has God gifted me in leading others to Him?