Andrew Forrest

View Original

"Immediately"

18?While walking by the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon (who is called Peter) and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea, for they were fishermen. 19And he said to them, ?Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men. 20Immediately they left their nets and followed him. 21And going on from there he saw two other brothers, James the son of Zebedee and John his brother, in the boat with Zebedee their father, mending their nets, and he called them. 22Immediately they left the boat and their father and followed him. [Matthew 4:18-22]

I've always thought that the calling of Andrew and Peter, James and John was a strange story, but recently I read something somewhere that made a lot of sense to me. Twice, Matthew tells us that the brothers left their nets "immediately," i.e., when Jesus calls, they respond totally: they don't hedge their bets or halfway follow him. What's Matthew trying to tell us?Either we follow Jesus, or we don't: there is no place for a half-hearted discipleship.Jesus says, "Follow me." In response, what do you need to "immediately" leave, drop, or do today?