St Patrick's Day
“While walking by the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon (who is called Peter) and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea, for they were fishermen. And he said to them, “Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.” Immediately they left their nets and followed him.” - Matthew 4:18-20 ESV
In the best circumstances or the worst circumstances, God calls us and uses us to shine His light into the darkness, to glorify Him, to make a difference. The question is this; ‘Will we listen and respond - will we obediently answer the call?”
Today is St. Patrick’s Day, a celebration of a 5th century Christian missionary who somehow became one of the world’s most popular saints.
“Born of Roman parents in what is now Scotland around AD 385, Patrick was captured as a teenager and forced into slavery in Ireland, a land of Druids and pagans.
It was a formative time! Not only did he learn the language and culture of those who enslaved him, he drew closer to God. He later wrote this:
"The love of God and his fear grew in me more and more, as did the faith, and my soul was rosed, so that, in a single day, I have said as many as a hundred prayers..."
Patrick's captivity ended at 20, when he had a dream in which he was told to leave Ireland by going to the coast. There he found sailors who took him back to Britain, where he reunited with his family. Then he had another dream. In it the people of Ireland were calling out to him: "We beg you, holy youth, to come and walk among us once more."
Patrick obeyed, and became known as the Apostle of Ireland, sharing Christ “everywhere he went.”
God used Patrick’s past circumstances in life and turned them into an opportunity for ministry, into an opportunity to glorify God, into an opportunity to put his faith to work and make a difference in people’s lives in his little part of the world.
Jesus did the same with Peter and his brother Andrew. He called them from a life in the boat casting nets and fishing, into a life of “fishing for men” so that the dark world around them would come to know the Light of Jesus Christ. Peter ultimately stepped out of the boat to follow Jesus and ultimately became the cornerstone of the church in Jerusalem (and beyond).
God can do the same with us (and to us). As He calls us back to past circumstances or calls us into knew ones ~ will we answer the call? Will we put our faith to work wherever He calls us to be? Whatever He calls us to do?
Keep the Faith... Carpe Diem
