The Hopeful: Come

“Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest.” Matthew 11:28

Sunburned. Sand between the toes. Muscles tense as brawny arms sling a sodden net at the lake’s edge. As the net whistles through the air, it settles expertly, sinking down into the shallows for a morning catch. The net is dragged in, gathered and flung out again. The fisherman smiles as it slaps the water. It’s a good life–predictable, comfortable, and free. He knows his trade, the ropes, the sand and the sea …but sometimes he wonders…Is this all there is?

It’s a living. He puts food on his table every day. He knows what he will do tomorrow, the next day and a thousand days to come. Is there anything more?

Peter is so caught up with his thoughts that he doesn’t notice the Teacher walking by the sea. The Teacher walks barefoot along the water’s edge.

Some teachers stay in dry classrooms and breathe old air. Some wait for students to find them. This Teacher is different. He teaches with the wind in His face and the sand between His toes. He goes where the people live.

The Teacher strides straight up to Peter. The fisherman glances up, startled. What would the Teacher want with him? Was he in trouble?

Peter squints into morning sunlight. The Teacher says, “Come.” Disbelief floods his mind. Why would such an important person call him? Didn’t the Teacher know his reputation, his past, his way of acting before thinking?

The Teacher smiles at Peter, nods approvingly and continues down the beach without looking back. The nets slip through Peter’s fingers, falling in a pile at his feet. He glances at the large clay pot full of flopping fish. He comes to Jesus the Teacher just as he is–a common, ordinary fisherman looking for more.

Mentoring Moments

What makes you want to walk toward someone? Why did Peter come to Jesus?

• Read Matthew 4:18-20. What qualified Peter to come to Jesus? What did Jesus offer?
• Read Matthew 11:28-30. What does Jesus offer those who come to Him?

I invite you to decide how you are going to answer Him. He is calling you!

I hope you will come just as you are. Come to Jesus with your problems, addictions, stresses and fears. Come to Him with your guilt, your shame and the weight of painful memories. Too often we think we have to fix what is wrong in our life before we come to Jesus. I urge you to come to Him without trying to do anything else first. He will take you just as you are. 

Jesus’ acceptance of me as a person amazes me! To think that He knows me, inside and out, with all my faults and failures and still calls me to come–fills me with love for Him. Let your heart be moved by the way He receives you! 

What difference would it make in your life if you came to Jesus just as you are right now? 

I invite you to decide how you are going to answer Him. He is calling you!