On one occasion, while the crowd was pressing in on him to hear the word of God, he was standing by the lake of Genessaret, and he saw two boats by the lake, but the fishermen had gone out of them and were washing their nets. Getting into one of the boats, which was Simon’s, he asked him to put out a little from the land. And he sat down and taught the people from the boat. And when he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, “Put out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch.” And Simon answered, “Master, we toiled all night and took nothing! But at your word I will let down the nets.” And when they had done this, they enclosed a large number of fish, and their nets were breaking. They signaled to their partners in the other boat to come and help them. And they came and filled both the boats, so that they began to sink. But when Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus’ knees, saying, “Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord.” For he and all who were with him were astonished at the catch of fish that they had taken, and so also were James and John, sons of Zebedee, who were partners with Simon. And Jesus said to Simon, “Do not be afraid; from now on you will be catching men.” And when they had brought their boats to land, they left everything and followed him. Luke 5:1-11

The enormity of the decision of those fishermen haunts me, centuries later. Up to this point in their lives, success in fishing was the goal, the achievement marker for life. Along came Someone who could grant that longing effortlessly, without even getting in the water. Simon Peter tried to disqualify himself: “Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord.” Yeah, like Jesus didn’t already know that. Instead of being excused from discipleship because of a lousy track record in holiness, Jesus gives Simon an unbelievable challenge and promise, on top of the unbelievable catch: “Do not be afraid; from now on you will be catching men.”

That’s all it took. The committed fishermen walked away from the greatest catch in their lives to follow One who could do anything, who had called sinful men to just follow Him. What an epic adventure! There has never been, nor will there ever be, anything that compares with serving God! To follow Jesus Christ is the absolute guarantee of adventure, and it’s for eternity!

My mind spins with memories of what it has been like to follow Jesus. The word “adventure” doesn’t do the journey justice. And to think our earthly existence is only the beginning of the trail! If it’s adventure you want, follow Him!

Dave Ness

The Bottom Line: There is nothing that compares with following Jesus Christ!