“Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.”

–Matthew 4:19–

On Sunday morning my oldest son came downstairs after dressing himself for church and proclaimed to the family, “This shirt is the perfect shirt! It says, ‘Follow My Lead!’ So, the other kids will follow me to Children’s Church!”

As a parent, it is amazing to see the boldness of my son as he joyfully walks in the faith that he received in baptism.

Despite my failures in parenting him (i.e. letting laziness take over and choosing many nights not to read the Bible with him), God, his Father in Heaven is faithful in parenting him.

Alongside his desire for sharing the love of Jesus with others, my son loves to pray. The one thing he WILL NOT let me forget to do is pray with him every night before bed.

One of my son’s nightly prayers that he prays without prompt from me is, “God, let more people come to church to hear about Jesus.”

At the beginning of Jesus’ ministry on earth, He gathered men and women to himself with the call to “Follow me,” (or, in order words, “Follow my lead!”) and gave them the promise that He would do all of the work in their lives to “make them fishers of men.”

What God, the Father in Heaven was saying through Jesus in that simple call and promise was that Jesus would forgive sins and change hearts to bend to the will of God. By following Jesus’ lead, they would first be loved and would love in response.

At the end of Jesus’ ministry on earth, in the ultimate act of love, He put the cross on His back, on which He would die, gathered men and women to himself with the call to “Follow me,” and led them to the place of crucifixion where He received the wrath of God poured out on Him to point of death to pay the price for your sin.

Today, walk boldly and joyfully in the saving faith you have received.

Follow Jesus because He has first followed God, the Father in Heaven, all the way to the cross to save you from your sin.

Despite your failures this week, God is calling you and leading you with the gentle and comforting words, “Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.”

Today, you are metaphorically dressed in a shirt that says “Christian.” In other words, your shirt says, “Follow My Lead!” People will follow you. Lead them to the cross of Jesus for forgiveness, rest, and peace.

Amen.

Pastor Fred.

July 21, 2017