At once they left their nets and followed him (Mark 1:18).

Have you ever noticed the differences between the Gospels? Matthew, the tax collector, presents Jesus' fulfilling Old Testament prophesies of the Messiah who came to establish His earthly Kingdom. Luke, the good doctor, offers Jesus', as Son of God and Son of Man, meeting man's every need. John, the beloved, selects specific signs and sayings providing a basis for belief, which result in eternal life. Finally, Mark illustrates Jesus', as a time and space Servant, accomplishing His eternal and redemptive work. I'd like to focus on the words of this author.

Mark is off and running from verse one of his Gospel. By verse sixteen, Jesus was picking His closest twelve. Simon and Andrew's numbers were up. They were next on Jesus' eternal list of followers. They were fishermen. Not kings. Not rich men. Not men of distinction. Just ordinary, hardworking fishermen. In verse 17, Jesus gave them the high sign, "Come, follow me and I'll make you not fishers of fish, but fishers of people." They had planned on following after fish their whole lives until this unique Person came onto their path. How would you respond? How did they respond? Understand, this wasn't the first time they'd encountered Jesus. In John 1:35-42 there'd been a prior meeting with the Son of Man. So, they responded after doing some soul-searching; they left their nets and followed him. Some would argue that this wasn't their salvation decision, but nonetheless, they followed. They entered into a new mission. A new life direction. A new way of thinking.

A few years ago, my great uncle Tom's "celebration of life" memorial service was held. As I was standing in the reception line greeting countless individuals I didn't recognize, one elderly gentleman took me aside. He graciously asked whom I belonged to, made the mental connection and asked me what I did for a living. I told him I was a pastor at a church in Indiana. He said he was my great uncle Tom's neighbor for 30 years. Then he said, "With all due respect to your vocation and degrees, I've been in many churches over my lifetime, met many pastors, served in different areas, but I've never met a stronger Christian man than Tom Harrison. I saw him almost everyday. I saw him at home and working behind the scenes to help Columbus, Ohio be the best it could be. That city can't repay him for all the hard work he did as a dedicated Christian man." "...But God will," I thought.

Just like Simon (soon to be Peter) and his brother Andrew, my great uncle Tom was a laborer for Christ. None of them received huge awards, trophies or honorary degrees, but God honored their decision to leave everything and follow him.

-Jeff Baxter

Will you do the same? Will you be a laborer in love with Jesus--in service and in your legacy after your time on earth is over?