Surrneder...

Luke 5:11 "So they pulled their boats up on shore, left everything and
followed him."

What's your net? Are you willing to leave it behind? Those are
the questions that every Christ follower has to answer. To put it
simply, are you gutsy enough to exchange your safe, comfortable life for
His bigger story?

This choice is illustrated for us in the New Testament book of
Luke chapter five, verses one through eleven. In this passage of
scripture, Jesus calls his first disciples by inviting them to throw
down their nets and become fishers of men. Sounds simple, doesn't it?
Maybe not.

In his book, Velvet Elvis, Robb Bell goes a little deeper into
the context behind this story. You see in Jesus' time, Jewish boys all
aspired to become Rabbis. Boys began their religious training quite
young, progressing through successively harder levels of schooling until
they reached the point where they would be tested and apprenticed to a
Rabbi. Those who were smart enough, and could master the complexities
of Jewish law, became followers of a teacher or Rabbi. Those who
couldn't survive the rigorous selection process had to opt for other
vocations. They became fisherman.

So when Jesus invited Peter, James and John to throw down their
nets and follow him, he was basically saying, "Look, I know you've been
told before you weren't good enough, but I think differently. Throw
away the comfortable, safe lives you've built for yourselves and take a
chance on me."

Doesn't sound quite as easy now, does it? But the story gets
deeper.

If you notice, Jesus caught up with his would be disciples after
they'd experienced one of their worst nights of fishing. Simon (Peter)
tells Jesus as much when he says in verse five, "Master, we've worked
hard all night and haven't caught anything. But because you say so, I
will let down the nets."

And then a miracle occurs. The men cast their nets back into the
Lake of Gennersaret, catching so many fish that their boats begin to
sink. In the space of a moment, the fishermen's worst day on the job
transforms into their best.

This is where the story twists. While the men are enjoying the
greatest success of their lives, Jesus invites them to leave their nets
behind and follow him.

Wow. When times are tough at work, it's pretty easy for me to
imagine selling everything and moving to Mexico to work with orphans.
Funny how I don't seem to feel the same way after a big promotion. If
you study the New Testament, you'll see that many other people faced
this same choice. The rich young ruler came to Jesus at the height of
his power only to be told that, to become a Christ follower, he had to
sell everything he had. Levi, a tax collector, walked away from his
lucrative job in order to follow Jesus.

So what about you? What are the nets that are preventing you
from completely following our Savior? Is it your career, your past,
your finances, or maybe the sense of control that you would have to
surrender to a God you've never seen?

During his message on Sunday, Andy made the statement that
"before someone can make a radical decision to follow something, they
first have to make a radical decision to let something go." So which is
it my friend? Are you the follower of a Rabbi or a fisherman?

* Feeling gutsy? Try praying this prayer, "Ok, God. Not my will,
but yours be done." Feeling really gutsy? Post a response and tell me
what happened after you prayed.
* Andy said, "all of us carry nets that can entangle us." Tell me
about yours.

- Don