Mark 1:16-20 Now as he walked by the sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and Andrew his brother casting a net into the sea: for they were fishers.… I. CALLING MEANS SEPARATION. We cannot prove any calling without separation. The merchant must separate himself from the easy-chair and the book, the student from society, the soldier from home. One main object is enough for most men. Few can properly pursue the ministry and business at the same time. II. THE CALLING IMPLIES A CALLER. Not our fancy, whim, passion, but Divine will. To some that will is made known clearly and directly; they cannot mistake. To some not so directly. But need any mistake, if they make it a rule to be ever fulfilling the duty of the moment? It is a mistake to think too much on the point. True thought is God realizing himself in us. True action is God willing to do in and through us. Never resist a pure impulse; never turn from a voice that speaks to what is disinterested in you. III. To TAKE TO A HIGHER WAY OF LIFE ALWAYS MEANS THE GIVING UP OF A LOWER. God confounds our avarice by his generosity. We cling to all we can hold; want to keep incompatible things - to be learned but not poor; to have as much of the world as possible, yet not be worldly; to live in self-indulgence, yet earn the reputation of saints. But God teaches us that our surrenders are no less profitable than our seeming gains. The provincial fisher becomes the apostle to the world. The things that are unseen are more than all that are seen. - J. Parallel Verses KJV: Now as he walked by the sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and Andrew his brother casting a net into the sea: for they were fishers. |
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