Lay it Down

While walking by the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon (who is called Peter) and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea, for they were fishermen.  

And he said to them, “Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.” Immediately they left their nets and followed him. - Matthew 4:18-20

Those few lines of scripture, straight from the lips and heart of Jesus have been thoroughly impactful here at Real Life.  

We draw our definition of a disciple from the instruction of Jesus.  He says, “Come, follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.”  We define a disciple in three ways, and it comes straight from this passage.

A disciple is one who is:

                - Following Jesus
                - Being changed by Jesus
                - On mission with Jesus

How did we know the disciples were on mission with Jesus?  Matthew 20 says, “at once they left their nets and followed him.” 

I love how Jesus doesn’t mess around – he gets right to the chase.  Lay down what is interfering in you following me.  Lay down your net. 

So, what does it look like today, to lay down your net and follow Jesus?  In a real life situation (pun intended).  

Well, I’m glad you asked, ‘cause I’ve got a story for you (didn’t see that coming, did ya?) =D

We've got a great couple in our home group.  The wife, June, is completely precious, with her long blonde hair and a sweet southern accent thick as molasses.  Her husband, Jimmy, is equally sweet, the football coach/teddybear-type, and they got connected to our home group because the kids connected on the playing field - and parents connected off the field.

They are great parents - very involved in the lives of their children.  But Jimmy's struggled with his involvement in his son's sports activities.

Jimmy has a soft spot for sports and feels a great connection with his son, so he's attended every game and every practice of every sport his son has ever played.  

That's a pretty serious commitment as his son is now 12.  

Jimmy has revealed the difficulty in releasing the engagement with his son in sports.  He wants his son to know how much he is loved and wants to be a part of his life.  Jimmy's commitment and coaching in sport is part of the way he shows his love.  But, Jimmy is also growing as a follower of Jesus in our home group, and practice schedules were beginning to conflict with home group time.

So, Jimmy had a choice to make and a net to drop.

Last week they came to group like normal.  Jimmy took a spot at the kitchen counter where the group had begun to congregate over the coffee fountain.  We were all chit-chatting, but Jimmy remained quiet.  

Finally, after a few minutes he piped up and said, "Well, I'm here."  

We all looked at him for a half second before he finished, "...and my son is at practice."

Then the room erupted in cheers.

The guys all congratulated him and Jimmy got a big hug from our host home mama, she leaned over close and said, "baby steps Jimmy, it's gonna be okay." Jimmy just gave her a shy smile. (more teddy bear than coach at that moment...)

It might seem like a small step for some, but for Jimmy it was a tough choice.  He was wrestling with making sure his son still understood how much he is loved and doing the right thing for himself, remaining committed to relationship and taking intentional steps to mature in Jesus.    

He had a moment to choose what he would lay down in order to follow the way Jesus was leading him, and he dropped the net.  He is following Jesus, being changed by Jesus and on mission with Jesus...sounds like a disciple to me.

It's an intriguing question I've been wrestling with this week...what net do I need to drop in order to follow Jesus?    

I challenge you to do the same and feel free to let us know, we love to hear how you're doing out there in bloggerland.

H =D