Are we in business with God?

ARE WE IN BUSINESS WITH GOD?

Mt. 4:12-23

The story of four men who found themselves in business with God are featured in today’s Gospel reading.  Simon, Andrew, James and John are some of the most familiar and notable men in all of history. 

Throughout the centuries many parents have given their sons their names.  We know them primarily as men of religion, but initially they were just plain, ordinary fishermen who earned their livelihood on the Sea of Galilee.

Then one day, there walked into their world a Carpenter from Nazareth, and from that moment their lives took on a new meaning and a new direction.  It all started with an invitation, "Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men."  They accepted that invitation, left their boats and nets, and followed the Carpenter.  We know the rest of the story. 

That challenge, accepted by those simple fishermen, ultimately changed and is still changing the history of the world.  They had no idea where He would lead them or how it would all end, but they followed and we can only wonder why.  But it seems to me there can be only one explanation.  Jesus offered them something that all people need - a higher purpose for living.  They saw in Jesus the chance to do something better with their lives than just make a living.

Jesus makes that same offer today.  The setting has changed, but the invitation to “Follow Me” is the same.  Contained in those two words is the opportunity for you and me to do something bigger and better with our lives.

First, let us underline the truth that there is nothing wrong with making a living.  What Peter, Andrew, James and John were doing was both worthwhile and essential.  They were businessmen plying their trade, earning a livelihood for themselves and their families.  Productive labour is a necessary part of every society.  People need to work, not just for what it puts in their pockets but for what it does to their hearts. 

This is the reason why unemployment is such a serious problem.  When people are denied the right to engage in useful work, they suffer both financial and psychological loss.  Unpaid bills accumulate, family needs are neglected, self-esteem starts to slide and the whole quality of life is seriously diminished.  So, making a living is not wrong.  On the contrary, it is essential and right. 

Jesus did not come to save these four men from work.  Instead, He took the work they were doing and added to it a deeper dimension, so that from now they were in business with God.  They were fishermen when He found them, and they stayed fishermen.  But they were no longer catching fish; they were "fishers of men."  Which is another way of saying that they were now in the business of helping people.  And this leads us into our next thought.

Being in business with God does not necessarily mean a change of profession.  We know that Peter, Andrew, James and John gave up theirs in order to follow Christ.  They became so busy with the affairs of the Church that there was little or no time for catching fish.  Their lives were totally consumed with preaching, teaching and healing.  This is a beautiful thing, and we can be forever grateful for the lives and ministries of these four fishermen.  At the same time, we need to remind ourselves that doing God's work does not necessarily mean giving up our jobs and only doing religious work.

We must not make the mistake of dividing life into the sacred and the secular.  All life is sacred when it is touched by the presence and power of Jesus.  God's work can be done on the farm or in the factory, just as surely it can be done in the Church.  You don't have to move to another house or to another town to follow Jesus.  You can do that right where you are.  It has nothing to do with how you make your living.  It has everything to do with how and why you live.

I heard recently of a mother who had a little plaque hanging in the kitchen where she cooks the family meals and washes the dirty dishes.  It said, "DIVINE SERVICES ARE CONDUCTED HERE THREE TIMES A DAY."  That mother was most certainly in business with God.  She wasn't just a housewife; she was a homemaker.  She was working with God, the great builder of homes.

That idea can be applied to your life and mine whether it is at home, at school, at work or at play.  Divine services can be conducted where we are daily.  All of life can be touched with the sense of the sacred.  We are no longer just catching fish, or building cars, or sowing crops, or sweeping floors or selling clothes.  Whatever we are doing we are in business with God; we are following Christ if our activities have something to do with service.

Every low form of living in some sense centres on self, and not service.  Making money is all right, but if the central consideration is self it very soon turns to greed.  Having fun is all right, but if all that matters is the entertainment of self, it opens the door to moral decline.  Catching fish is an ancient and honourable trade; but if that's all you do, and you do it for yourself, you will live and die a little person.  So, what Jesus did was rescue Peter, Andrew, James and John from the littleness of life.  He gave them something better to live for than self.  They were still fishermen, but now in business with God.  They were "fishers of men."

Lord Jesus, what You did for the four fishermen we ask You to do for us.  May we work not just for ourselves but in partnership with You.  May we have the courage to follow Your invitation "Follow Me."

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