What's in Your Net?

"As He was going along by the Sea of Galilee, He saw Simon and Andrew, the brother of Simon, casting a net in the sea; for they were fishermen. And Jesus said to them, "Follow Me, and I will make you become fishers of men." Immediately they left their nets and followed Him." - Mark 1:16-18

Our pastor preached on this passage on Sunday, and he made a point of saying that Simon and Andrew immediately followed Jesus. Not in a little while, not after they had finished with their nets, but immediately.

And so, as often is the case, my mind began to wander. I'm not a fisherman, but I have a net in my hands that begs for my attention. Do you know what's in my net? My schedule. Every day I know exactly what I'm going to do and how the day is going to unfold. When something interrupts that schedule - a phone call, an unexpected visitor, traffic delays, load shedding (those of you in SA know what I'm talking about!), I have a really hard time adjusting. The funny thing is, South Africans are very relational - as far as I can tell people are always more important than the job at hand - so I'm starting to think God put me here to learn a few things!

Don't think because we're in "ministry" that we're perfect. There are times when I say, "Sure, Lord, I'll call this person back as soon as I finish...." or "Okay, Lord, I'll go talk to this person, but can I ignore the doorbell just until I'm done with..... and then I'll go?" I look down to find that I'm not only holding a net, but I'm tangled up in it - I've got a nice pair of "fish net stockings" on!

"Immediately they left their nets and followed Him." That's a hard one. Would you leave your place in the queue at Starbucks to follow Jesus? Would you set that latte down, unfinished? Would you leave your groceries, your braai, to follow Jesus? Your job? Your family? I don't know about you, but I have a hard time leaving my net, immediately or otherwise. I see that I still have a lot to learn, especially how to open these two hands of mine.