…Come after me, and I will make you fishers of men.

                                                                                                Mark 1:17

The words of Jesus above were spoken to some fishermen.  They were spoken as Jesus walked by the sea.  Ever notice how many things in the life of Jesus happened by the sea? 

These men had a trade; they were fishermen, something they perhaps had learned from their fathers.  It was the way they made a living.  It was how they put food on the table.  They knew their job well.  Why would they want to trade a way of life they knew so well for something they didn’t know? 

“Come after me!”  Was this a request or a demand?  Or was it an invitation?  Let’s call it an invitational challenge He empowered them to take.  What would they get?  At this point, all they were receiving were His words, “I will make you.”  They left on His words.  They left on His promise.  They followed, and what an adventurous journey they took.  They spent three years with their creator and were re-created into fishers of men.  Their life with Jesus was an adventure they would cherish for eternity. 

For us today, we get to share in that journey and adventure, reliving them every time we read the Gospels.  I find something new and exciting every time.  Start a count on the seaside happenings in the life of Jesus (if for nothing else, just to see how many you can find).  Then listen to the wind and pounding waves…above the roar, you just might hear the voice of Jesus say, “Come after me.”