By Shane Beilue
Isn’t it interesting that of the 12 disciples Jesus called to follow him, about half were fishermen. Now, fishing back then was a way of life to many (funny how some things never change), but guys like Peter, James and Andrew fished out of necessity rather than pleasure. Often in scripture we see them mending nets, sorting fish and even fishing for hours with nothing to show for it – wow, some things really don’t ever change!
The rest of the 12 came from all walks of life: a reformed tax collector (think rogue IRS agent) and even one who was destined to betray Jesus. But what’s common among all these disciples is how common they were. None had any social status, most were without any wealth and none had any formal religious training. Yet Jesus handpicked each one to be in His “inner circle” – a small collection of “nobodies” that would take the gospel of Christ to the ends of the earth.
What Jesus was offering these common men was an opportunity to be transformed from the ordinary into the extraordinary – to move from the mundane to the meaningful – and, in the process, to give their lives away in HIS greater call to be “fishers of men.”
If you’re reading this, I’ll presume some things about you because you’re probably just like me: you have a passion for fishing (in Texas we say “you’re ate up with it”), but you’re also somewhat ordinary, prone to failure and disappointment at times – therefore you may feel disqualified to serve the Lord in whatever capacity He’s called you.
The problem with that line of thinking is that our calling from Christ is not dependent upon our own ability. If it were, the 12 would have never made the cut – and neither would we. I want to encourage you with the old saying, “God doesn’t call the equipped, He equips the called.” If you feel like you’re not someone that God could use to serve Him, listen to what the apostle Paul says about it:
“For consider your calling, brothers; not many of you were wise according to worldly standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth. But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are, so that no human being might boast in the presence of God.”
1 Corinthians 1:26-29
Yes, that includes ordinary fishermen….
