Learning to Follow Jesus

One day when Jesus was walking along the Sea of Galilee he saw two fisherman, Peter and his brother Andrew, throwing out their net to catch fish.  He said, "Follow Me," and they immediately dropped their fishing nets and followed him... or did they?  Well, the head said "Yes!" and the heart said "Go!" but the feet had to learn how to follow. Learning to follow Jesus is more than a decision of the head and heart, it is a way of life that is learned, one step at a time.

Peter's decision to follow Jesus came after an "eye opening" encounter. Luke tells us Peter was washing his nets after an unproductive night of fishing when Jesus directed him to put his boat back into the water.   Jesus got into the boat and spoke to a large crowd gathered along the shore, and when he had finished speaking, he said, "Put out into the deep water and let down your nets for a catch."

Peter said, "Teacher, we worked hard all night and catch nothing." But then he reluctantly did what Jesus had asked. Miraculously, the nets became so full of fish that they began to break, and Peter had to ask for help to bring in the catch.

While others dealt with the fish, Peter fell down at Jesus' feet and said, "Lord, please leave me!  I'm too much of a sinner to be around you."  It was after this sequence of events that Jesus invited Peter to follow him.

Even though this was only a FIRST step, it consisted of a number of connected motions. The decision to follow Jesus was made after Peter:

• heard Jesus' teachings
• accepted Jesus' direction
• witnessed Jesus' work
• recognized Jesus' identity
• and fell at Jesus' feet

Peter's heart said "I'm too much of a sinner to be around him." But when he heard Jesus say, "Follow me," his head told his feet to take that first step.

Peter's story meanders across the pages of the Gospels marked by a consistent pattern: he stepped forward one moment and then stepped back the next. He stepped onto the water and then quickly got in over his head. He was the first to call Jesus "Messiah," but then forbid him to go into Jerusalem.  He promised to die with Jesus and later that evening said, "I never knew him."  But inspit of his slips and missteps, Peter kept putting one foot in front of the other, gradually learning to follow Jesus.

We learn to follow Jesus the way a child learns to walk.  With the encouragement and support of those around us, we decide to give it a try.  After falling a bunch of times and being helped to get up again, we eventually learn to stand without falling.  Then we take our first step and quickly fall again.  We are helped back to our feet and try it again.  This process of standing, stepping and falling happens too many times to count, but we gradually learn how to do it, step by step.

Be encouraged.  Continue to faithfully put one foot in front of the other, and eventually:

"Those who trust in the Lord will find new strength.  They will soar high on wings like eagles.  They will run and not grow weary.  They will walk and not faint" (Isaiah 40:31).