Weekly Devotion

Welcome to the Weekly Devotion. Mark 1:15-20 tells the story of Jesus at the Sea of Galilee where he found 4 humble fishermen: Simon Peter, Andrew, James and John.  Jesus approached them, “Follow me and I will make you fishers of people”. According to the scripture, the men immediately dropped their nets and followed Jesus. Immediately! 

Jesus invites us to follow him, as well. How immediate is our response? How far are we willing to sacrifice? What are we willing to risk?

Unlike those first disciples, we aren’t necessarily asked to drop everything in our lives to follow Jesus. We have so many opportunities to respond and continue our lives working in our professions and raising our children. The mission field needs people who, in response to Jesus’ teachings, reach out in love to all people and work to create change in their communities.

In our daily lives, we can be like Jesus and stand up for what is right and show that we believe in the worth of all persons. Have you ever stepped in to help someone pay for their groceries or offered food? At a 7 Eleven a man standing outside the entrance asked me for money for food. I had no cash so I had nothing to offer. Once inside, I picked up a sandwich, fruit and a bottle of water and gave them to him as I left.
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Do you respond to the people on the street corner who are asking for money? Or do you just look straight ahead and not even acknowledge that they are there? Take a risk, open your window, and offer some help and say a few words. Once all I had was a $10 bill and I would not normally give that much money. But when stopped at a traffic light, I handed the woman there the $10. This caught her by surprise and she started crying and sharing that she was going to go find her husband so they could get something to eat together.

There are small things we can do, and there are bigger causes where we can join others to accomplish the greater good. As followers of Jesus, we can find ways to live by example to follow Community of Christ’s Mission Initiative to Abolish Poverty and End Suffering, and the Enduring Principles: Worth of All Persons, Pursuit of Peace (Shalom), and Unity in Diversity. Jesus still calls us and we can be “fishers of people”. What better way to invite people to Christ than to live the life according to Jesus’ teachings.