In the fifth chapter of Luke we find recorded one of Christ’s compassionate appeal to Gospel ministry. This passage means so much to me as I believe that the Lord is calling all Christian to a higher calling. Christ is calling you and I to “Launch out into the deep and let down your [our] net for catch” (Luke 5:4).
The calling of the first disciples to Christian service is one that demanded immediate obedience and a deep commitment to follow Christ through submission. The response to Christ’s call to become catchers of men required three essential elements which are: Authority, Yielding, and Surrender. Christ has the authority to be Lord of our lives, we must yield our lives to His lordship and surrender our hearts completely by becoming all that He has called us to be. Our response to the upward call of God comes with a great cost. In the case of the first it required an abandonment of personal ambitions (fishing business) to become catchers of men (Luke 5:10a). The lesson to be learned in this text is that we are all called to become Disciples of Christ and to capture people for the kingdom of God.
When we take the focus off of us and place it on other people, we’re free to be able to make the difference in the life of someone else. The Lord provides us a perfect example, for He spent His entire time on earth in submission to the will and purpose of Father God. He gave up His right/will to seek and save the lost. The scripture informs us that when we submit to God, we find out that His desire/will for us is one of eternal significance.
At the end of chapter 5, Luke records Jesus’ appeal to Matthew the Tax Collector. It was a powerful but yet simple call when Jesus said to him “Follow Me” (v. 27). Today Jesus is offering the same call to you, the Bible says that many are called but few are chosen. Will you accept the call and become one of God’s choiced servants? As we approach Christmas 2009, I would like to encourage you to submit yourself to Christ’s authority, yield to His leadership and commit yourself to a life of service to Him. May your decision today transform your life and others forever.
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