Great Men Let Down Their Nets

I don’t think anyone would question that Peter, James and John were great men. They were part of the original 12 apostles. They literally wrote scripture. They performed miracles. Jesus called Peter the rock of the church. What’s important for all men to learn is that the first step towards greatness for these future apostles was to be obedient in natural earthy ordinary things. Luke 5:1-7 records of the story of these future apostles fishing all night with no results. They were experienced fishermen who knew how to work a lake. Yet they had nothing but failure. Along comes Jesus and says now do it one more time. These guys were experts they had seen what the lake had to offer and it wasn’t much. In the natural there was no reason to go back out to the lake. However, they obeyed Him and caught more fish than they’d every seen. They had to call other people to come help them hold it all. Their obedience in the natural things brought about supernatural results. They did something they “knew” wouldn’t work only because Jesus said to do it. When they did obey they had to call for help to gather all of the fish. To do something great for God we must first demonstrate ordinary obedience to Him. Following Jesus in the simple mundane things of life is our training ground be able to follow Him in the great things of life. For these men letting down their nets was a life changing act of obedience. Participating at the transfiguration came because they let down their nets. Writing scripture came because they let down their nets. Peter preached the Christian message at Pentecost because he let down his nets. God is calling young men today to let down their nets. Far too many men see the value of obedience in the so called big things of life. They think if God calls a man to be a vocational minister the obedience is important. However, when it comes to being honest on a timesheet or behavior behind closed doors many man place lesser value on obedience.

Right Next Step

Challenge yourself and all men to begin now obeying Jesus in all things. Don’t wait for that call to become something great. Greatness starts one step at a time one day at a time. Be great in your commitments to your wife, your children and to those around you. Jesus taught in Luke 19 that to be trusted with much we have to be faithful in little things. That’s the sign of a great man.