“Following the Mystery”

by Lauren Benson

“One day as Jesus was walking along the shore of the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers – Simon, also called Peter, and Andrew – throwing a net into the water, for they fished for a living. Jesus called out to them, “Come, follow me, and I will show you how to fish for people!” And they left their nets at once and followed him.” – Matthew 4:18-20 (NLT)

I was raised in a believing family, taught to “know all the answers”, quote scripture, memorize the books of the Bible, and to feel certain I had Christianity down pat. The irony and truth of it is that just as soon as I truly accepted Jesus as the guiding force of my life, I realized how very little I actually know or could hope to know. It’s such an intense and deep mystery, this “following Christ” thing, and the minute I think I’ve got it all figured out is the moment when he gently – firmly – takes my hand in his and leads my faith to a place I had no idea existed.

In my recent scripture studies, I’ve seen clearly that I am not the first or only soul with whom Jesus shares this wide open, grace-filled, question-inundated mystery. In fact, most anyone bumping up against Jesus on a daily basis has nearly the same exact experience: an immediate and intrigue-laced yearning.

In Matthew 4:18-20 we see two men sitting smack dab in the middle of life. Simon Peter and his brother Andrew are floating in a boat just off the shoreline, in the Sea of Galilee. These guys probably think they’ve got life pretty much set out for themselves. They were likely trained by their father to fish, who was trained by his father to fish. Fishing is what they know. It’s all they’ve ever known. And it’s likely all they expect to need to know, something they’ll pass along to their own sons and grandsons. It’s an oh-so-neat-and-tidy status quo.

And then along comes a man who makes Simon Peter and Andrew an offer they somehow find irresistible.

“Come with me, and I will make you fishers of men.”

Did they hesitate? How long had they been sitting in that boat, perhaps stuck somewhere between full- dark and sunrise – for hours? For days? For their entire lives and deep-seeded psyches?

It was long enough to make this stranger’s mystery more enticing than the assumed known. The brothers jumped right out of their boat and immediately followed Jesus.

A part of me – the somewhat more experienced part – recognizes this story so very well. How many times have I sat in the security of all I know and believe to be true, confident in my place, primly planted in that confidence?

How many times have I sat in the dark, confidently spinning my wheels, not-so-confidently wishing for something more?

I need only to skip a few verses back in the story of Simon Peter’s and Andrew’s first meeting with Jesus to know why I would feel this dichotomy. In Matthew 4:15-16 we hear the promise of the coming of “a great light”. Like my own spiritual darkness, perhaps their encounter with Jesus came literally as the sun was rising: two men, fishing futilely in the dark, and bringing the dawn is a man, who knows their name and sees straight to their hearts, slicing right through the sinew into the marrow of desires they didn’t even know they had.

That is where Jesus finds me. Every time. And he’s so tender in reminding me of how uncertain life is – yet how certain he is. Oh how sure is the reality that I can “fish” another forty years of life, catching only fish … or I can take up Christ’s net and follow him into a great unknown. Life is a vast and deep ocean. Pain and joy are present or sure to ebb and flow over our sticky, tricky crevasses. But what I can know without a shred of doubt is this: when I answer in the affirmative the call to follow, Jesus will always be there with me, guiding me, casting nets that he and I can haul in together.

Prayer:

Lord, thank you for leading the Church to your place of mysterious certainty. We will follow in your light, amid the dark unknown, and know You.

Reflection:

How has Jesus called you? Are you comfortable with his mystery? Can you feel the shiver of delight in his personally calling you to follow him?

Treasure Hunt:

“”I, the LORD, have called you to demonstrate my righteousness. I will take you by the hand and guard you, and I will give you to my people, Israel, as a symbol of my covenant with them. And you will be a light to guide the nations.” – Isaiah 42:6 (NLT)

“No, the wisdom we speak of is the mystery of God – his plan that was previously hidden, even though he made it for our ultimate glory before the world began.” – I Corinthians 2:7 (NLT)

“My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish. No one can snatch them away from me.” – John 10:27-28 (NLT)

Faith in Action:

This week, take a few minutes to sit in a still place, in prayer, opening yourself up to the call of Jesus. His mercies are new every morning (Lamentations 3:23), his desire for you to follow him in a renewing experience. And be ready to fall into the delightful mystery of his call – you never quite know where it will lead you next.

Author~ Lauren Benson

Lauren is a Tennessee-born wife, mother, knitter, fiber artist, Anglophile, music lover, writer, and Christ-led believer with a passion for grace, and the gentle quest for authenticity in this big beautiful world of ours. She’s a total foodie, art history geek, and biography reader with an insatiable wanderlust coursing through her veins. You can connect with Lauren via her photography business, Lauren Bee Photography, or her personal blog, Vivo est precor.