A Divine Opportunity
Something amazing happened in the calling of the first disciples. When starting His ministry, Jesus searched for the individuals who would pilot His church after His ascension. Among the first of those individuals was Peter, Andrew, James, John, and Matthew. From the criteria of leadership, these men were unsuspecting considering their occupations as fishermen and a tax collector. Yet Jesus was confident in their ability to grow and evangelize.
Peter and his men had been fishing all night to no avail when the Lord first encountered them (Luke 5:5). Jesus then exemplified His control over the natural world and provided enough fish to sink two boats. From a spiritual standpoint, this was an amazing event. However, think about it from a financial view. These men had a rough night of fishing which then meant they had a bad day in the business world. Jesus immediately allows their profits to sky-rocket with the provision of two boats full of fish. And yet, rather than merely focusing on the tangible and physical, Peter immediately disregarded the worldly gain to focus on the divine (Luke 5:8, 11).
Matthew likewise forfeited his worldly position as a tax collector to become a follower. Luke’s account made his calling plain and simple; “He said to him, “follow me.” And he left everything behind, and rose up and began to follow Him” (Luke 5:27, 28). Matthew would have been in a unique position as a tax collector in a Jewish community. He would have received benefits from the Roman government such as protection and stability. Following the pattern of the others, he discounted the physical to pursue the spiritual.
We consider the positive examples of the early disciples and their willingness to give up anything to be with Jesus, but that doesn’t seem to always be the case. In one of the most striking contrasts, Ezekiel records the story of how God viewed Jerusalem. Jerusalem was not seen as valuable in any way (Ez. 16:5), so God adopted her and proceeded to bless her with fine jewels and significant blessings (Ez. 16:9-14). Unfortunately, Jerusalem “trusted in her beauty and played the harlot because of her name” (Ez. 16:15). Rather than seeing the source of the blessings, Jerusalem fell in love with the blessings themselves.
It is not a sin to enjoy the gifts of God. In fact, they are often a means of praise and glory (Ps. 103). However, there is a hidden temptation of allowing worldly gains to distract us from trusting in God. The apostles of Jesus serve as a tremendous example of placing a greater priority on following Jesus, rather than following Jesus’ gifts. Paul warned his readers of “serving the created rather than the Creator” (Rom. 1:25). What a blessing it is to know the source of all goodness!