What’s It Going to Take?

John 6:1-15

Jesus went across the Sea of Galilee. A large crowd followed him, because they saw the signs he was performing on the sick. Jesus went up on the mountain, and there he sat down with his disciples. The Jewish feast of Passover was near. When Jesus raised his eyes and saw that a large crowd was coming to him, he said to Philip, “Where can we buy enough food for them to eat?” He said this to test him, because he himself knew what he was going to do. Philip answered him, “Two hundred days’ wages worth of food would not be enough for each of them to have a little.” One of his disciples, Andrew, the brother of Simon Peter, said to him, “There is a boy here who has five barley loaves and two fish; but what good are these for so many?” Jesus said, “Have the people recline.” Now there was a great deal of grass in that place. So the men reclined, about five thousand in number. Then Jesus took the loaves, gave thanks, and distributed them to those who were reclining, and also as much of the fish as they wanted. When they had had their fill, he said to his disciples, “Gather the fragments left over, so that nothing will be wasted.” So they collected them, and filled twelve wicker baskets with fragments from the five barley loaves that had been more than they could eat. When the people saw the sign he had done, they said, “This is truly the Prophet, the one who is to come into the world.” Since Jesus knew that they were going to come and carry him off to make him king, he withdrew again to the mountain alone.

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For many of us, it’s very hard to completely-surrender our entire lives to Christ.  Especially in a world that comes at us in an endless barrage of waves!  Jesus doesn’t ask for a little from us – He asks for everything.  He wants every last drop of who we are.  Why wouldn’t He?  After all, He created us from mud and clay – He is the Potter of our vessels.  The Eternal Artisan of all that we see, hear, touch, smell, and feel.  In Jesus’ days, people started following Him mostly because of the signs that He was performing – especially the healing of the sick.  Who among us doesn’t have a nagging ailment, ache, etc.?  Who wouldn’t want to be healed?  Perhaps healed on a much deeper level around fear and/or demonic influence?  It is said that Jesus did so many Miracles during His three-year Ministry that even all of the books in the world couldn’t hold them (John 21:25).  Let’s think about that for a minute.  It’s kind of like when Kids ask how Saint Nicholas can get to all of the homes around the world on Christmas Eve.  Jesus would have had to have been very busy for those three years!?  And, He was.  Fishermen appreciate patient, repetitive, hard work.  They know what it’s like to cast nets and set bait only to come-up empty.  They understand long hours and incredible, arduous journeys.  It’s no coincidence that Jesus picked many of them to be His Apostles and Disciples.  It’s also no coincidence that He used fish-related Miracles many times in Scripture to deliver His Message.  Many Fishermen know what it’s like to completely-surrender to Christ and to Trust Him to bring in the catch.  We should continue to aspire to be more like them and expand that to include us becoming Fishers of Men, as well.  It’s in our complete surrender to God that we can finally become the “More” that God wants us to be – the Ultimate Fishers of Men.