He Paused

"Come, follow me, and I will make you fishers of men"

Imagine standing at the edge of a great lake. Water laps against the stones. A breeze moves across your face. Then you hear footsteps on the gravel road behind you — closer and closer — and then they stop.

You look up, and it is Jesus. He has paused on His journey, and He has turned His full attention to two men.

He could have kept walking. Instead, the God who made the universe stops for two fishermen — ordinary, broken people like you and me. And He says, "Come, follow me, and I will make you fishers of men" (Matthew 4:19).

Everything about walking with Jesus begins there. Not with our ambition, not with our giftedness, not with our strategy — but with His invitation. It is always initiated by God. Following Jesus is our response.

The Invitation

Notice what Jesus does not ask Peter and Andrew. He does not ask about their credentials or their readiness. He asks them to come and walk with Him. The making would come later. The walking came first.

That order matters for us as we go and make disciples. It is possible to spend years in ministry for Jesus while slowly forgetting how to walk with Him. His invitation is not first to a task; it is to Himself — to adjust our course and realign our purpose.

A little farther down the shore He does it again. James and John were in the boat mending nets, doing what they had always done. Jesus paused and invited them to walk with Him as He walks with the Father. They left what they knew and began to walk with the One who saw them, who knew them — and who knows you, and is already walking with you.

What we receive is meant to be given away

Paul tells us that Jesus' followers have been blessed "in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ" (Ephesians 1:3). It does not matter what you do for a living. If you belong to Jesus, you have received a gift you could never earn.

But that gift was never placed in our hands so we could hold it tightly. Blessings received were meant to be shared. That is the heart of the Father, the heart of the Son, the heart of the Spirit who enables us to give. We were made to be channels of what we have received, not reservoirs of it.

"Blessings received were meant to be shared."

No one walks alone

This call was never a call to go it alone. Not isolation, but connection. Not independence, but interdependence. Not about me, but about relationship. Not perfection, but broken people submitted to Christ, growing together as a covenant community.

Jesus said the world would know we are His disciples by our love for one another (John 13:35). So how do the people closest to you experience your walk with Jesus — in your failures, when you have been wounded, when you succeed? May they see humility, repentance, and dependence — and a joy that cannot be explained apart from Christ. Not I, but Christ.

A Commission you walk into

Before He ascended, Jesus told His disciples, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations… And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age" (Matthew 28:18-20).

He never leaves us — He changes us. He invites us — to walk with Him. And then He includes us — as part of His body, bringing people from every tribe, tongue and nation to Himself. Across the street. Into our neighborhoods, our families, our schools, our workplaces, and around the world.

"One life changed, stepping alongside another"

A Question of pace

Walking has a pace, and accompanying someone means matching theirs. That is not a cost to count; it is a blessing to give away — inviting someone else into the journey of following Jesus.

Let me leave you with three questions. Ask the Holy Spirit to help you answer them:

Where have you set a pace that leaves no room to notice Jesus walking with you? What would it take to slow down?

What might it look like to intentionally notice how Jesus is walking with you, and with your community, as you head into this week and this next month?

Who has God put on the road beside you right now? What change of pace would enable you to keep walking with them?

Discipleship is relational and never intended to be a sprint. It is one life changed, stepping alongside another, and another, until the very end of the age.

"Now to Him who is able to protect you from stumbling, and to make you stand in the presence of His glory, blameless with great joy… be glory, majesty, dominion, and authority before all time and now and forever. Amen." (Jude 24-25)

Steve Meeker

Steve Meeker is the Director of Leadership Lab International, the training arm of Scripture Union USA serving both the U.S and other Scripture Union movements. With over 30 years of experience in multicultural discipleship and team development, Steve is passionate about equipping disciple-makers to grow in their leadership and deepen their walk with Jesus.

He works closely with ministry teams to foster a culture of unity and servant-hearted collaboration, empowering them to live out the Great Commission with purpose and joy.