Empty nets lying by the water’s edge tell the rest of the story of when the Lord called Peter. What does it mean to follow Jesus? It means reckless abandon, relinquishing everything you once called yours. Jesus’ promise to make Peter a “fisher of men” encodes the basic purpose of Christianity—to help people.
For Peter, it all began with a simple invitation: “Follow me.” For every Christian, it is the same decision. What it means to follow Jesus is to bet your life that Jesus told the truth, that He is worth more than anything else, and that He is Lord of all. And if all that is true, then it only makes sense to follow Him with reckless abandon. As Bonhoeffer famously said: “When Christ calls a man, he bids him come and die. It may be a death like the first disciples who had to leave home and work to follow him, or it may be a death like Luther’s, who had to leave the monastery and go out into the world. But it is the same death every time—death in Jesus Christ, the death of the old man at this call.”
This should not surprise us. Jesus’ death cost Him everything; why wouldn’t following Him cost us everything in return? A half-hearted discipleship is worthless.
You might be tempted to think, “I’ve grown and changed quite a bit. I think I’ll settle down a bit, hit a nice spiritual routine, find a level of spirituality that keeps me comfortable, call it ‘faithfulness.’” But that isn’t what it means to follow Jesus. Not as Simon’s example defines it. Not by a mile.
What is keeping you back from full throttle pursuit of God? Time wasters? Fear? Distractions? Lack of discipline? Lack of love? Friends, if we are feeling lethargic in our following of Jesus, the problem isn’t in Jesus. The problem isn’t even the circumstances he has put us in. The problem is something else, perhaps even something quite benign in itself; but it prevents us from going after Jesus with all our heart. Simon would never have become the rock if he kept holding on to his nets.
Following Jesus cost Peter everything. Yet Peter’s life story shows that it’s only the person who loses his life for the sake of the gospel that truly finds it. So what are you waiting for?