Miraculous Response – January 30, 2020

Going on from there, he saw two other brothers, James son of Zebedee and his brother John. They were in a boat with their father Zebedee, preparing their nets. Jesus called them, and immediately they left the boat and their father and followed him.
Matthew 4:21,22

Miraculous Response

What kind of opportunity would it take to make you switch careers? A bigger salary? An office with a window and the respect that comes with it? A more solid retirement package? It would probably have to be an invitation so powerful that it knocked you off your feet—especially if you like your current job.

Did you notice what kind of offer caused James and John to drop their nets and hop out of their respective boats? Jesus called them, and immediately they left the boat. Can this response be anything less than a miracle, the supernatural working of the Holy Spirit himself through Jesus’ powerful Word? The men were losing money in this career change. They were risking the good graces of their father. They were leaving behind business and family and stability. What kind of a person does that? The person to whom Jesus says, “follow me.” These men would continue to be followers of Jesus even if it cost them their lives. His call is powerful, eliciting a miraculous response.

Here we are, 2,000 years later, half a world away from the Sea of Galilee and yet Jesus calls people to follow him today in the same way that he called people to follow him then, with simple, powerful words.

And the fact that we follow, that we respond in faith, is nothing short of a modern-day miracle of the Holy Spirit. For how else could we describe the spiritually dead coming to life?

Consider how God’s powerful Word brings people to faith and moves them to obediently follow. Consider how it lifts the spirits of those who are sick, trains the hearts of the young, comforts the hearts of the old—and you will understand the miracle of discipleship, a miracle that our Jesus still performs today.

Prayer:
Jesus, you call me to follow you with your powerful Word. Send your Holy Spirit to instill a faith in me that allows me to do so. Amen.