Hungry for God: An Invitation to Occupation

“And He said to them, ‘Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men.” 

—Matthew 4:19

The greatest job that a person can ever have is to work for and with God. When Jesus us calls us, He calls us to be His ambassadors, as the Bible says,

“Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making His appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God”—2 Corinthians 5:20.

God chose us to reach others. While Paul employed the metaphor of an ambassador, who is one who is in a foreign place, sent there not to do their will, but to do the will of the sovereign who sent him. Jesus employed the metaphor of becoming a fisher of men. Jesus calls us to salvation, yes, but He also calls us to a brand new occupation—serving Him. We have the responsibility and privilege of telling other people about how great Jesus is. And at first glance, such a task seems unbelievably daunting, but when we consider how easy it is for us to tell others about what we delight in, it becomes much smaller. Confused? Allow me to explain.

If you saw a movie and loved it, your natural inclination is to tell others about the movie, so that they might share in your joy--your joy is in some sense validated by their seeing the movie at your recommendation. How much more does this principle play out in reference to Jesus? Tasting of His salvation, experiencing the joy of being forgiven, and fulfilling the purpose for which God made you, are just some of the byproducts of knowing Him. Enjoying a film is one of a million lesser joys we experience day in and day out, but enjoying Christ, and telling others about who He is, and what He has done on the cross for them in the hope that they too will surrender their life to Him and receive Him as Lord and Savior, is an unbelievable joy that God allows us to experience.

Have you experienced the joy of telling others about Him? Do you hunger to have others come to the same joy you experience through knowing Him? Unleash your joy by telling others who He is, and watch God extend the invitation to salvation into an invitation to occupation for them as they experience the rapturous joy of knowing and loving the true King of Kings. Amen.