Supper was over and the dishes had been cleared from the table. As Daddy opened his Bible, the children listened closely while he read them more stories of Jesus. Tonight they were reading in Luke 5 about the Lord Jesus calling His disciples.
The Lord Jesus sat down in Simon’s boat to teach the crowd of people on the shore. When he had finished speaking to them, He told Simon to “launch out into the deep and let down your nets for a [catch]” of fish. Simon didn’t want to, but he finally let down one net and was very surprised at his huge catch! He even had to call his friends, James and John, to bring their ship over to help carry some of the fish! Then the Lord Jesus said to Simon, “From [now on] thou shalt catch men. And when they had brought their ships to land, they [left everything behind] and followed [Jesus].” Later in the chapter, the Lord Jesus saw another man called Levi (or Matthew) collecting taxes. He said to Levi, “Follow Me. And he left all, rose up, and followed [Jesus]” (vss. 27-28).
When Daddy had finished reading, the children had lots of questions. Then it was Daddy’s turn to ask questions. He asked each of them an easy one. Little Julie was only four, but she loved the Lord Jesus and had trusted Him as her very own Savior. Daddy asked her, “What did Jesus’ disciples do after He called them?” He even gave her a clue by showing two fingers of his right hand following two fingers on his left hand.
At once Julie blurted out, “They were copycats!”
Yes, the disciples followed Jesus and did what He told them to do. They copied His perfect example. Boys and girls often copy the examples of those around them. Some are good examples to copy, but some are not good examples. No matter how good an example someone is, he or she will still make some mistakes. Children who are following that example will often make the same mistakes.
But the Lord Jesus never has, never will and never can make a mistake. Each of us must decide if we are going to follow Him or go our own way. If we follow Him and obey His Word, the Bible, then He will guide us all the way to His home in heaven. But if we go our own way, it will take us down a path of sin that leads to punishment in hell.
Like Julie and her daddy, those of us who have been saved from our sins want to be followers of Jesus and copy His perfect example. The Lord Jesus loves us much more than we love Him, and He wants us to learn as much about Him as we can. We can do this by reading our Bibles carefully and by talking to Him in prayer every day. He will help us and guide us to be “copycats” of Him.
ML-06/17/2018