Fairhaven Shorts 1-21-2024

Responding to Jesus' Transformative Call

So I wonder if you can think back to when you first noticed Jesus calling you on the lakeshore of your life when you were just going about your daily business. And what did he say? Did you think you were picking something up on the side, you know, like when you have some spare time and energy? Or even if you had wanted to soften Jesus's call, was the call loud and clear for you? Change your heart and life. Come along behind me and I will make you become a fisher of human beings. Jesus' call is fundamentally transformational.

To become a follower of Jesus of Nazareth, which Simon and Andrew decide to hop into, eyes wide open, even if they didn't fully understand, it means that your life is no longer what it was before you dropped the net.

Jesus' Invitation - Transforming Identity

Jesus is not inviting them to try out a new kind of fishing. You know, like, Come and we can go fish for tilapia. Come and we can go fish for men. Like, no, it's not two activities.

He's not inviting them to try a new kind of fishing or, you know, to head over to the bunny slope to do a few runs and then try some more challenging trails. No, I will turn you into fishers for human beings. I shall make you become fishers of men. Completely different thing.

Not like a side activity, not a hobby. You don't become a skier by going skiing. Going out for a jog doesn't turn you into a runner. Jesus is calling them, right from the beginning, into a transformed identity.

And this is, again, why I think it's so good that the CEB translates repent as change your heart and lives. It's like something that you have to keep doing. And what Andrew and Simon are doing, their day-to-day activities and tasks, that's changing. But more importantly, who they are is changing too.