Preparation starts close to Christ

Of course we shouldn’t worry, it’s all in God’s hands. But, I’ve always felt the pressure of understanding how I’m supposed to serve him.

As young men, we are eager to understand and pursue God's ultimate purpose in our lives. While this is a great pursuit, we mustn't overlook something even greater: the pursuit of the Lord himself. As I’ve read the Word recently, I’ve been learning about the significance of drawing nearer and nearer to Christ every day.

When Jesus says to the first disciples, “come ye after me, and I will make you to become fishers of men” (Mark 1:17), I’m sure they thought the same thing. ‘How are we supposed to do that?’ They were mere fishermen; how could they acquire the skills necessary to preach? I, too, find myself sometimes fixated only on the end result, neglecting the steps required to reach it. But what’s encouraged me is that just like the disciples, God doesn’t expect us to become fishers of men immediately or by ourselves. Jesus wanted the disciples to focus on being faithful in following close to him. He would worry about making them “to become” what they needed to be –  preachers to “every creature” (Mark 16:15).

If Jesus had told Simon or Andrew that he would leave them and command them to “Go … into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature” just like he told them at the end of the Gospel (Mark 16:15), they would’ve run the other direction! 

The disciples had a big task ahead of them, but first they were called to follow close to Christ. It was the only way they could be ready for their mission.

So how did Jesus make them “to become fishers of men?”

Throughout the book of Mark, we  see a pattern. The disciples' spiritual progress directly correlates with their nearness to Christ. For example, it’s only until chapter 6:7 (almost halfway into the book) that Jesus entrusts them with “power over unclean spirits” and sends them out in twos to preach the gospel throughout Israel. Up to this point, the disciples had simply been following Christ. Now, from this place of closeness and relationship, Jesus sent them out on their first short, limited mission.  

This was a perfect preparation for when Jesus would command them to “go into all the world” (Mark 16:15). The disciples couldn’t have stepped out as apostles from day one, but through growing closer to Christ they were able to be molded into the fishers of men that he had called them to be. Isn't God gracious to plant moments in our lives that prepare us for our future work? 

I heard in Bible reading recently that Moses' preparation was the same. In Exodus 2, God guides Moses to Midian and there he looks after sheep in the wilderness. This was a simple stepping stone in his life to train him to shepherd the Israelites through the wilderness for 40 years.

Are we letting the Lord mould us now for his future purposes?

And here's another thing. Many of the followers of Jesus died gruesome, painful deaths but they may have not followed through if they knew all this at the start. They were not like Christ, who knew from the start that his ultimate purpose was to die on the cross and yet never swayed once.

Maybe it’s a blessing that we don’t know what God has in store for us. But let’s be encouraged that if we are willing to stick close to Christ, God will plant stepping stones in our lives to forge us into  men fit for his use, ready even to suffer for his name. 

Let's keep close to Christ, taking each stepping stone as it comes, and praying that God will open our eyes to see what he has in store for us.

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