“‘Come, follow me,’ Jesus said, ‘and I will send you out to fish for people.’” – Mark 1:17
Since we all know that Christ died for us and the only way for our salvation is through Him. The only way to our salvation is through having faith in Christ, and having faith in Christ means following Him. As Christians, we just don’t stop in accepting and receiving Chrits’s gift, but we are also called to follow Him and become His disciples. We are also called into something greater. Our salvation is a gift from God and a very big privilege, now, as a response we are called for a greater purpose after we are given a new self.
In our verse today, we will be able to read what God has prepared us to do. Again, the moment we became a new creation and the moment we accepted Christ as our Lord and Savior, being a Christian does not just stop there. It does not stop on being saved but it is a constant process of renewing our minds, aligning our lives with Christ and fulfilling the purpose God has given us. The backstory of this verse was all about Jesus declaring that it is the time, for the kingdom of God is coming near.
The whole verse revolves around the time when Jesus called Simon Peter and his brother Andrew; and James and John. When Jesus called the two sets of brothers, they immediately answered and followed Christ. Now, as people who also chose to follow Christ, enjoying the privilege of being saved, how do we know that Christ has indeed ruled our lives already? How do we know that we are now under Christ and that we see Jesus not only as a Savior but also our God?
Well, to fully know that we are indeed in Christ is through assessing ourselves if we are truly following Him. Again, being saved does not stop there, if we truly understand that salvation of Christ, we will also understand the purpose we have after we receive Him. Thus, if we are truly following Christ, it means that we should become like His disciples. We are called for some greater purpose, not just to secure our salvation in Christ, but also to become fishers of men. We were once fish in the oceans who did not know Christ but Christ has manifested and reached out to us through the lives of other Christians. Now, we are also called to do the same.
If we assess ourselves, are we just freeloaders? We claim that Jesus Christ is our Lord and Savior, but we don’t let Christ control our lives and use us for His purpose— then we are freeloaders. Though it doesn’t mean that our salvation can only be acquired through doing good things, the measure of truly understanding the Gospel and the power of salvation means having the heart to fish out for people who still don’t know Christ. We have to understand once we become people who are saved by grace through faith in Christ, we are also a new creation. A new person who also longs for other people to be saved and to not hoard the good news of Christ.
Therefore, as Christians who truly believe in Christ, we have to follow Christ and we are also called to fish for people and bring them to the knowledge and grace of Christ. We should not just stop on the process of receiving Christ, but we should always renew our minds, immerse ourselves in the Word of God and have the desire to bring more people to Him. For selfishness is not a product of Christ’s salvation but love and grace. Meaning, Christ’s salvation will make us reflect on His love and grace, thus as we reflect on it, we then care for the salvation of the other people. We will then not just follow Christ, but we will also bring more people to Him.
May we always remember this message of God. We should never forget that it is very important for us Christians to spread the Gospel so that many people will know the salvation of Christ. Let us always put in our mind that the love of Christ will manifest from us to our neighbors through bringing them to Christ. We should not stop only at declaring that we believe in Christ, but we should continue to seek Him through His Word and we should bring more people in Christ. May our lives become a blessing to the other people who do not know Christ yet.
