They say that you can change a habit if you do something different for 21 days in a row. You can learn a new skill by practicing it consistently for 21 days. You can’t master the skill, probably, but you can take a rudimentary task in a totally unknown field and get pretty good at it by focusing on it for a period of time. But to master something, it can take years. Olympic athletes work for years to rise to the top of their field. This is true in any field that requires skill to achieve mastery.
Think about something that you are really good at performing. It doesn’t have to be something that only you can do, but something that you do well. How long did it take for you to get really good at it? It has probably taken years of practice.
I remember spending hours learning tricks with a yoyo. I could do all the tricks in the yoyo book I had. But I spent months of failing before I buckled down and concentrated. And once I got it, I got it. II am pretty good at Marriage and Family Therapy. I can use my hands to make all sorts of things and repair many things that are broken. I earned $120 an hour for fifteen minutes last week. I fixed a window blind. So instead of having to buy a new one, the old one was repaired, saving me $33 for the fifteen minutes work. I am terrible at fishing!
Simon and Andrew were professional fishermen. It is what they did for a living. Owning nets and a boat were luxuries people couldn’t afford to keep unless they were used for profit. Most people in the world don’t own jet skies. They don’t have the resources. And even those who do own them, don’t use the every day. They are a luxury.
You have to learn to catch fish. If your life depended on it you would learn it well. You would learn to look for the signs of fish’s presence. You would learn the seasonal changes that happen where you are fishing. You would learn the currents and feeding habits. You would learn the best way to catch them dependent on all the possible variables. Net, hook, night, day. Cast the hook or net? Bobber or stationary net across a known fish highway. Whatever skill was needed to be successful at fishing, you would learn it.
Jesus arrives where they are fishing and calls them. They are throwing a net like missions of people still do today to catch fish. Jesus calls them to follow Him. They must leave their fishing for fish profession behind, but they keep their skill. Jesus wants them to use their fishing skills in a new way. He wants them to catch people instead of fish.
When we come to Jesus and surrender our lives we all come with skills and abilities, natural and learned. Jesus wants us to repurpose those skills and abilities for His use. We bring all we are to Jesus. We need wonderful musicians to lead us into the throne room of God in worship. We need people who love children and can use their skill with children to help draw them to Jesus.
But Jesus doesn’t stop with the skill we brought with us to our Christian walk. He promises to gift us to do what is needed at the moment it is needed. Simon and Andrew had to learn to fish people, and in case you hadn’t noticed, people are not fish. They had to learn new methods in order to catch a new thing. They had to be willing to submit their skill to the leading of the Holy Spirit and to refinement and retraining.
The same is true for us. Being a secular musician does not make you a good worship team member. Playing at a classical concert is very different than playing for a worship service. Each points people in a different direction. Music points people inward in pleasure. Worship points people to the grace of a loving God at work in humankind.
Are you willing to become good at something for Christ?
The Arnold Journey 