A Tale of Two Fishermen

And as He walked by the Sea of Galilee, He saw Simon and Andrew his brother casting a net into the sea; for they were fishermen. Then Jesus said to them,

“Follow Me, and I will make you become fishers of men.”

They immediately left their nets and followed Him. 

Mark 1:16-18

Did you realize that day wasn’t the first time Andrew and Peter had met Jesus?  It’s true.  According to John 1, they had both encountered Jesus much earlier while Andrew was a follower of John the Baptist far away from the Sea of Galilee. 

One of the two who heard John speak, and followed Him, was Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother. He first found his own brother Simon, and said to him, “We have found the Messiah” (which is translated, the Christ). And he brought him to Jesus. 

Now when Jesus looked at him, He said, “You are Simon the son of Jonah.

You shall be called Cephas” (which is translated, A Stone). 

John 1:40-42

Can you imagine that?  The Son of God (Matthew 3:16-17) met them and spent time with them—even changing Simon’s name to Peter.  Andrew and Peter quickly began to faithfully follow Jesus for a little while, but for some reason, along the way, both of them turned back to “business as usual.”

It isn’t clear exactly what kept these brothers from making Jesus the top priority of their lives, but in spite of their revelation of who Jesus was and their commitment to follow Him, something got in the way.  Has that ever happened to you?

They walked away from Jesus, but He didn’t give up on them!  Or you.  Or me.  He never does—no matter how many times we go back to business as usual.  Before long, Jesus found them again on the shore of the Sea of Galilee.  They were the same two guys, but this time, they made far more than a commitment.  They SURRENDERED their lives to Him. 

The rest of the story of these two fishermen—Peter in particular—is well documented.  He soon witnessed miracles, doubts, betrayal, remorse, disbelief, faith, and mighty works.  All because this fisherman finally made relationship with Jesus his top priority in life (John 21:15-19).

So where are you today?  Did you make a commitment only to fall away—back to the “busyness” of your “real” life?  Possibly more than once?  Or are you one who is following Him faithfully—right in the midst of your every-day life?

Even if you have slipped away from His call to a deeper personal relationship, there is real hope for you today.  Jesus is still walking down the shore of life, inviting us to leave our “busyness” behind and follow Him.  It’s up to us to lay down the distractions and follow Him.  That decision sure worked out well for Peter.