“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 NIV
In the year 1990, Christian music artist Steven Curtis Chapman illustrated what it cost to be a follower of Jesus through the lyrics he wrote and setting it to music in “For the Sake of the Call.” The story of four fishermen giving up their only means of support to follow Jesus is found in the book Matthew chapter 4 in the New Testament. Jesus was in the beginning of His public ministry and had now moved on to Capernaum. Seeing Simon Peter, his brother Andrew along with James and John at work in their trade, Jesus called them to leave it all behind and follow Him. He would make them fishers of men. We read their response was immediate. They left it all. James and John even left their father in the boat. A radical move to say the least.
Steven Curtis Chapman put it this way;
“Empty nets lying there at the water’s edge
Told a story that few could believe
And none could explain
How some crazy fishermen agreed to go where Jesus lead
With no thought to what they would gain
For Jesus had called them by name
And they answered…
We will abandon it all for the sake of the call
No other reason at all but the sake of the call
Wholly devoted to live and to die for the sake of the call
The sake of the call” (1)
When the Lord calls us today, how do we respond? Are we willing to leave it all behind and serve the Lord where He calls us? He may not be calling you into full time service, but make no mistake, the Lord has a special calling for each one of us to serve Him where he has placed us. We are to answer the call and abandon all this world has to offer FOR THE SAKE OF THE CALL.
(1) Steven Curtis Chapman, “For the Sake of the Call” Sparrow Records, 1990.
Read the story: https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew%204%3A12-22&version=NIV
Word for the Soul 