Be Part Of A Powerful And Exciting Revolution!

Jonah 3:1-5,10, 1 Cor. 7:29-31 & Mk. 1:14-21

Robert Louis Stevenson one Sunday made this entry in his diary, "Went to Church this morning, and strange to say, I was not greatly depressed." Wherever did some people get the notion that religion is dull and takes away the sparkle of life? They must have drifted a long way from the New Testament!.

Look at Peter, Andrew, James and John. They were fishermen, in business for themselves, planning their future and always happy to expand their operation. Then one day they looked into the eyes of a Galilean Carpenter, heard Him say "Follow me," and for some reason they completely changed their plans and left everything else behind. That is the religion of the New Testament, the most fascinating thing that life can offer.

Do we not believe that what happened back there in the first century can and does happen today?

Religion carries with it the promise and the appeal of becoming something. Jesus said to the four young men, "Come, follow me and I will make you fishers of men." Can you think of anything more inviting and thrilling than that all people can rise above the present to become something they have never known before? Christianity is the religion of redemption. It is the offer of another chance to those who have missed the way.

There is nothing dull or tame about that!

To the four fishermen this remarkable Person sounded like the voice of the prophets. As He spoke to them on the seashore and later on the hillside they felt a lump in their throats and hope in their hearts. He awakened in them a challenge to achieve great things, and of living for high ideals.

Their message to us is simple and direct. We too can be different. We can be fired with high ideals and our characters can be ennobled. We may be small-minded and mean, lazy, selfish and greedy; but we don't have to stay that way. There is a Voice that invites us to follow Him to be what He intends us to be. Yes, real religion has within it the appeal of becoming something, and of doing something. Jesus spoke to these fishermen about going into the business of fishing for people. That means that our small lives can be joined in partnership with the creative purposes of God. Real religion doesn't get us out of life, it gets us into it. We are not Christians just to escape Hell and skip into Heaven but because we believe that the mightiest challenge of life is to stand in our generation, as others have stood in theirs, for the abiding things for which Christ Himself stands.

The most powerful, exciting revolution going on in this planet is the divine programme of human redemption. God has paid us the compliment of calling us to be partners in His revolution because Jesus says to each one of us, "Come after Me and I will make you fishers of men."

He has also called us to help people in need as He did during His earthly ministry when He showed us what it means to be a truly redemptive person. The keynote characteristics of His life are compassion and friendship. To be a redemptive person means much more than preaching sermons. It means giving of yourself, involving your life in the needs and problems of other people. That is not easy, but give it a try. I think you will find it the most rewarding and appealing work in the world.

Lord Jesus, just as You called Your first apostles to follow You almost 2,000 years ago, You now call us. May we accept Your call and find this experience as exciting as they did.