As Jesus walked beside the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and his brother Andrew casting a net into the lake, for they were fishermen. “Come, follow me,” Jesus said, “and I will make you fishers of men.” ~ Mark 1:16-17
Typically in Little League tryouts, the better you do the worse team you’re on because teams draft players based on the previous years' record. The worse you were the better your draft order. During Little League tryouts I hit every pitch, caught every fly, and fielded every grounder throwing the ball accurately to first base. A few days later my nightmare came true when, Coach Whiteford knocked on my front door holding a brown paper bag, and informed me that I was officially a San Luis Obispo Met.
Then, he did something I’ll never forget. He handed me the brown paper bag he’d been holding. I reached into the bag and pulled out a plastic, pear-shaped object like nothing I’d ever seen.
As I stared at this strange plastic pear Coach Whiteford smiled and said, “Your dad will know what this means when he gets home.”
Hours later Dad arrived from work and I handed him the bag with the plastic pear inside wondering at its significance. Dad laughed and said, “Son, you’re going to be a catcher!”
I didn’t realize then what an important role that plastic pear, or “cup”, would play in my career. With that plastic pear in its proper place, I played catcher through Little League, Babe Ruth, and high school, earning high accolades as a catcher thanks to the covering of that strange plastic pear.
But what does that have to do with anything?
Jesus said, “Follow Me, and I will make you become fishers of men” (NASB). Jesus saw potential in his men just as Coach Whiteford saw something in a husky eight-year-old. Figuratively, Jesus held the brown paper bag with its potential to change the world.
That potential, however, was contingent upon the words “follow me.” Jesus knew those common fishermen could become world-changers if they made the choice to come under His protection—his covering (ah, now you get it).
Jesus holds out the same offer to us.
His plan is for you to become something you never dreamed possible. He sees you as your best version before you see it yourself. He believes in you more than you can ever imagine. But we must trust Him with abandon first. Our lives must be fully surrendered to His will.
Where have you stepped outside His covering in your life to trust in lesser things?
