A Christian song in the 1990s spoke about time to make a change. As I recall, a line in the song said, and we are the people who can do it. The life of a Christ-follower is about change. The Apostle Peter encountered change that day at the lakeside when Jesus said, “Follow me.” The change had to be Peter’s to make. His brother, Andrew—who had to make the same change—could not make it for Peter. It was Peter’s and his alone to make. Peter was a fisherman by trade. He possessed a certain skill set that enabled him to make a living catching fish. Jesus’ offer that day challenged Peter with the opportunity to utilize his skillset for another purpose; for a kingdom purpose.
Peter had to decide if this offer was worthwhile. The Bible does not give any insight into what went into Peter’s decision. It simply says that the fisherman dropped his net and followed Jesus. It is possible that Peter had no clue as to what the offer meant. What is certain, is that something in the heart of this man convinced his mind to put down the net and walk away.
This isn’t the place to expound upon this, but Peter had a purpose to fulfill for the kingdom of God. This means that something of the Spirit of God had to be deposited within Peter’s life that would allow him to respond to Jesus that day. This is important to understand because, at the end of the day, it remained Peter’s decision. This means that he could have said no, even though something of the Spirit of God within him agreed with what Jesus asked of him. This can get deep, and that isn’t my intent; Peter said yes because something within his heart agreed with what he heard Jesus say. It was powerful enough to convince his mind—logic—to respond yes.
The Bible speaks about a component called faith; it is a belief, an assurance not based on logic, or fact. This story of Peter (and his brother Andrew) illustrates this component. It is repeated by humanity daily. God initially created human beings; this is in our DNA. Humanity will naturally respond when confronted with something of the unseen spirit realm. This response is presented to the mind, (again the logical part of human beings) which either accepts or rejects it.
This is what happened to Peter and his brother that day. This is what happened with you and with me when the offer to follow me was extended. This is what happens to those in your world and my world when the follow me offer is given.