Come Follow Me

"Come follow me and I will make you fishers of men." So John, the youngest son of Zebedee left his father's fishing business and followed Jesus. Now, John didn't just take the day off and follow Jesus around town for the afternoon and go back to work the next day feeling inspired from some good teachings. John gave up his life in his father's fishing business, left everything, and followed Jesus.
I have been studying a lot about what those next three years were like for John. How he must have been amazed when he saw Jesus perform his first miracles that confirmed he had made the right decision. John knew something great was happening with Jesus. He spent a lot of time close to Jesus, asking questions and growing personally in his walk with him.  Jesus was preparing him for the day when John and the other disciples would have to walk the journey without him.
What I want to know is, "How did God prepare John to follow Jesus in the first place?"
 If a strange man comes up to you on the beach and says, "Come follow me and I will make you surfers for God," you are going to look at him like is crazy. What? I have to go back to work on Monday or I'll lose my job. Then who would make my car payment and pay my mortgage? I'd be out on the street with some crazy, homeless person.
But that is not the response Jesus got. They put down their nets and followed him. So they must have been prepared. They must have known Jesus or their spirits did for God must have prepared them to follow him. Do you think you would recognize Jesus if he came and said, "Come follow me...?" Would you drop your nets and follow? Have you had an experience like that?
I remember the day God said, "Go out that door without me or come sit in the sanctuary and I will show you who Jesus is." I think that was my "put down your fishing nets and follow me" moment. I chose to learn more about Jesus. I followed and every day since I am thankful that I was invited. Everyday there are moments that require us to put down our nets and follow Jesus. Maybe it is just in the way you respond to a difficult situation by putting down your self-interest and responding for the benefit of the difficult person. 
John didn't just give up his annual vacation to go on an inspirational tour, he gave up everything he knew without hesitation to follow Christ. I want to be prepared to make that decision when Christ says, "Come." I want to know Christ so intimately that I can not be fooled by some crazy person but I will know his voice so clearly I can without hesitation drop everything and follow him. Maybe God will use my life to ask me... maybe he will say,
"Come follow me, and I will make you Riders for Christ."