Becoming a Celebrity

CHAPTER ONE. THE PROPOSAL. And Jesus said unto them, Come ye AFTER me, and I will make you to become fishers of men [Mark 1:17]. Ever wondered what Jesus meant by that or what he was trying to convey to Peter? Was he trying to tell Peter he was going to make him some preacher of some sort or some Evangelist; if he followed him…or was Jesus trying to address some issues of deeper significance? Here, Peter was a fisher man. He had lived his life trying to `bait down' fishes through techniques he had acquired over the years in his fishing career. Practically, Peter was in the fishing business and tried to make a living out of it. But it looked like Peter was struggling in that line of business as sometimes he and his friends sit to mend and repair nets they would have just replaced- all things being equal [Mark 1:19]. Actually, all things were not equal; as the struggles to make ends meet sometimes lead them to toiling throughout the night. It seemed that the income from the business was not really sustaining the entire enterprise; at least, to replace weak and tired nets. What toil! Isn't it amazing how we struggle on careers we know are not sustaining us. Is it that we do not have the technical-know-how to it; or that we are not just doing some things right? Now; was there something the fishermen were supposed to do that they were not doing? Was there something more their eyes needed to be upon, that they were not seeing; rather than unprofitably struggling to make money; or ends meet? The answers to these should come from the solution Jesus proffered to Peter and his colleagues; when he saw their appalling condition. The solution, according to Jesus, would be embedded in these men's adherence to his beckoning: "come after me, I will make you to become fishers of men". This means that the solution would be initiated, if these men followed him. Let us take a look at the passage where the incident took place: ...and it came to pass, that, as the people pressed upon him to hear the word of GOD, he stood by the lake of Gennesaret, and saw two ships standing by the lake: but the fishermen were gone out of them, and were washing their nets. And he entered into one of the ships, which was Simon's, and prayed him that he would thrust out a little from the land. And he sat down, and taught the people out of the ship. Now when he had left speaking, he said unto Simon, Launch out into the deep, and let down your nets for a draught. And Simon answering, said unto him, Master, we have toiled all night, and have taken nothing: nevertheless at thy word I will let down the net. And when they had this done, they enclosed a great multitude of fishes: and their nets brake. And they beckoned unto their partners, which were in the other ship, that they should come and help them. And they came, and filled both the ships, so that they began to sink. When Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus' knees, saying, depart from me; for I am a sinful man, O Lord. For he was astonished, and all that were with him, at the draught of the fishes which they had taken: And so was also James, and John, the sons of Zebedee, which were partners with Simon. And Jesus said unto Simon, fear not; from henceforth thou shall catch men. And when they had brought their ships to land, they forsook all, and followed him. Luke 5:1-17 (KJV) From the passage, we realized that Peter and his partners were astonished by the results produced by Jesus' way of doing things. They came searching for provisions; and success in business, but to no avail. When Jesus came to the matter, he suggested a technique that left them with a net-breaking and ship-sinking profit with ease. This prompted Jesus to chirp in the statement: “FEAR NOT”. More like, “it is not a big deal, I will let you into the secret…and that will be, of course if you FOLLOW ME”. Before Peter followed Jesus, he had to get his attention. But, why did Peter give Jesus his ship in the first place? Was it that he fancied this new `people's man' that just had crowd listen to him; or was it that Peter loved making friends and liked the adventure of meeting and knowing new people? Was it that Peter was expecting an opportunity to lure an influential Jesus into becoming his future customer? Often times, we anticipate possibilities in our opportunities. Sometimes, we go out being hopeful, and expecting something from GOD for the day; but he gives another. We ask for fish; but He releases the ability to fish; or better still, introduces us to the sleeping giants in us. GOD can so give you unlimited financial breakthrough that retires you from money making to doing hobby- for Peter left all and followed him after a net-breaking and ship-sinking profit; to do what he discovered via same encounter, that he could do better. As Peter's attention, with that of his colleagues was got, Jesus told them, “come after me, I will make you become fishers of men”. Jesus did not say, “Come with me”, or “come beside me”. He was careful by, and with the words he used. Jesus said,” COME AFTER ME”. In essence, Jesus was telling them to follow his footsteps that he will leave behind for them. He was telling them to follow his tracks he was threading. In other words, He told them to start following his principles and way of doing things, if they must get great results. If Peter and his friends should have the quality of Jesus' results, then they need to COME AFTER HIM- in the trail he was going to blaze. Following Jesus' footsteps means: “before you do, wait and watch him do the things he does, then take suit”. It means to jump were he jumped; and stalk were he stalked. Following Jesus' footsteps also means: “Do not do, until he does; and do not do outside what he did”. When you come after Jesus, according to him, he will make you become something. MAKING YOU means transforming you. To transform means TO FORM on TRANSIT or Motion. It means that making you is a process that involves motion through time. Therefore, on your continuous motion with Christ, or traveling behind him in his footsteps, he is going to make you into something. What is that SOMETHING he was going to make Peter into? He said he was going to make Peter a FISHER OF MEN! Peter liked to attract or woo fishes with bait. But it seemed that Jesus noticed some other ability in Peter right from the time Peter released his ship. Peter released his ship without putting up a quarrel with Jesus over his inability to seek his consent first, before jumping onto his ship. Jesus only did seek for Peter's consent when he required his assistance to thrust the ship a little bit into the sea (Luke 5:3). Just sounds like somebody barging into your private car and pleading with you to drop him off the next street. It seems Peter was good hearted and easy going; and never noticed the strength in his easy going nature at the time. Peter seems to naturally pick interest in people- though it was hard for Peter to woo a fish; it was almost easy for Peter to invite his counterparts to co-ordinate the spoil he caught. It was like Peter had charisma and interpersonal skill. Peter might not be successful with fishes, but he seemed very successful with people. There was this incident where Jesus cursed a fig tree for not bearing fruit (Mark 11:13-14). Though all his disciples heard him curse the fig tree […and his disciples heard it-Mark 11-14], it was only Peter amongst the disciples that reminded Jesus of the effect of a seemingly careless unimportant act he did the previous day […”And Peter calling to remembrance saith unto him, Master, behold, the fig tree which thou cursed is withered away. _Mark 11:21]. If someone is not so interested in his colleague; activities like this would have gone unnoticed or unremembered. Noticing people's little details and showing some concern could make them like, and gravitate towards you.