The first time someone reads how the Apostle Peter started as a follower of Jesus, he or she might struggle to conceive of how a successful small businessman would simply walk away from his career and business assets.
Yes, it was a display of faith. But Jesus ministered to many people, I’m sure, who owned businesses and they didn’t leave the enterprises behind to become disciples.
So what was different about Peter’s experience that prompted his departure into discipleship?
An insight is given in Luke 4:38-39 into how Peter’s heart was led away from a focus on earthly business and toward a focus on heavenly business.
“Jesus left the synagogue and went to the home of Simon. Now Simon’s mother-in-law was suffering from a high fever, and they asked Jesus to help her. So he bent over her and rebuked the fever, and it left her. She got up at once and began to wait on them.”
Earlier in Luke 4, Jesus had been in a Capernaum synagogue and healed a demon-possessed man. This, of course, left a profound impression on all the synagogue members which evidently included Simon, whom Jesus later nicknamed as Peter.
Peter’s mother-in-law was very ill and either Peter or someone close to him asked Jesus to come to Peter’s house in order to heal the mother-in-law.
When the healing occurred, there had to have been a profound impact on Peter.
This was no fluke of medical luck and natural breaking of a fever.
This was a miraculous, instantaneous display of God’s mercy at the request of sinful people who felt they had no other hope for the healing of one they loved.
Yes, Peter was impetuous and imperfect, but he was also impressionable.
So when Jesus soon thereafter asked Peter to lower his nets into the sea after a night of fruitless fishing, Peter’s heart and soul were being set up for a life-changing experience he never could have imagined.
You know what happened next.
And now it’s perhaps less confusing as to why Peter walked away from his life in Capernaum in order to walk with Jesus in the pursuit of lost souls.
So how does this apply to your life of ministry and mine?
Please understand that major life changes that we’d like to see in others — decisions to pour one’s self into worship and service of the Lord — don’t just happen.
It didn’t for Peter and it doesn’t for people today.
That’s why it’s so important that you and I look for opportunities to take the love and power of Jesus into other people’s lives. You might have an unsaved or unchurched friend with a family member who is really sick physically or in another way. Pray for the opportunity to go to that hurting person with your compassionate help, your prayers, the Word and passionately lay those needs before the Lord.
When God moves to bring comfort and healing in some form to the hurting person’s life, your ministry efforts might have not only led to a physical blessing but also to spiritual progress in your friend’s life.
Perhaps that friend will even become a fellow servant of the Lord.
Hmmmm….. I love how God works.
As always, I love you
Martin
