Reimagining Pro-Life: 30 Days With Save the StorksSampel

HEART // 

When Jesus called the first disciples, He asked them to give up everything that they had ever known. And there must have been something incredibly compelling about His presence, His call, His invitation... because they immediately “left their nets and followed Him.” Here, a net symbolizes one’s career, income, ambition, and resources. In essence, for a first-century disciple to drop his net was for him to destabilize his entire life.

Why did Jesus’ first disciples risk everything for Him? Because any plans (even great ones!) we make, or we fall into, pale in comparison to the invitation to follow Him. There’s just nothing like the joy of being with Christ! (Philippians 3:7-9)

Following Jesus has life-changing implications for everyone. He calls us to die to ourselves, finding a new identity and life in His Kingdom. After all, God sent His Son to the world on a rescue mission: Jesus came to bring hope to the hopeless, He came to seek and to save the lost, and He came to gather His people. 

When Jesus called the first disciples, He was offering for them to join Him on this mission. He asks us to join Him, too. It’s an invitation to join Him on His rescue mission, and there could be no brighter, higher, or happier journey for anyone to take! Why? Because we get to be with Jesus. The Great Commission reassures us of this glorious truth. Jesus says, “And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age” (Matthew 28:20). 

Have you dropped your net just yet?

So often, we only follow Jesus when it works for us. Sure, we enjoy glimpsing His glory in Scripture — but just on days that we have enough ‘free time.’ Yes, we pray — mostly when our pastors give us five quiet minutes before receiving communion. These are good, necessary aspects of the Christian life, but think about this for a moment: Could it be that we are compulsively grasping onto our nets, only going on mission when it feels safe enough for us? 

If our obedience to Christ includes going to church, reading our Bibles, and regularly praying, yet we do not willfully sacrifice our lives for the good of others, then we are not following Jesus to the fullest capacity. He welcomes us to follow Him in doing crucial redemptive work in the most difficult of places. 

As you carry a bit of an extra burden around this week, ask yourself: Have you followed Christ to every place He may be inviting you to bring light? Maybe to pray outside of an abortion clinic -- asking the Holy Spirit to minister to those hurting women and impact their decision to end the life inside of them? We sometimes think, That’s for activists, not Christians. By now, we hope that you have begun to see the way that championing the unborn is primarily Kingdom work. During the next few days of Mission Week, we want to explore with you what it means to walk with Christ and like Christ — leaving our nets behind us and stepping in love toward people who are hurting, or even people we may not relate to or agree with. 

// WORK 

Today, spend a few minutes looking through the Gospels in your Bible (Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John) and find a few things that Jesus called His followers to do. Make a list of His commands in your journal so that you can keep adding to it throughout our last week together. (If you need a headstart, check out Matthew 5-7 and John 13-15.)

Have you given your life to Jesus the way the disciples in the New Testament do? Many still worked, lived with families, and did all of the ‘normal’ things that those of us who do not live a life of full-time ministry do. Dropping your net doesn’t always mean giving up the path God has you (and your family) on, but it at least means being willing to follow Him anywhere He asks. He may lead you into places that get the head-nod: vocations of choice, business success, generosity, and healthy relationships. He may also veer you toward the things this world may not understand — like personal sacrifice, costly compassion, and high standards of purity. The invitation is yours. Today Jesus is saying to you, “Come, follow me.” What a moment, what a call, and what a King.