Rushing after Jesus

Jesus usually didn't rush people. He knew it took people a while to learn new things, so He was patient. But in this week's Gospel (Mark 1:14-20), even Jesus is in a hurry!

Walking by the Sea of Galilee, Jesus saw Simon Peter and Andrew catching fish in nets. "Come with me," Jesus called to them, "and I will make you fishers of people." Then He saw James and John, and called them. All of the men left their nets and followed Jesus.

That's why Jesus taught the same things over and over: He didn't want to rush people. He knew people learn better when they're happy.

Other times, being rushed is a good thing: If you hurry to your aunt's house, you get to play with your cousins there. If you're good and don't yell about hurrying to the store, your parents might buy you some candy or another treat.

The Gospel story was one of those times. Jesus was in a hurry to gather up some people to follow Him and help Him teach about God. Instead of hanging around talking to Andrew, Peter, James and John for a while, He just said, "Come with me!"

The four men left everything -- their jobs as fishermen, their houses and even their families -- to go with Jesus. But they found out that grownups can be right about hurrying: When they hurried after Jesus, they got to be His best friends!

PRAYER FOR THE WEEK: Jesus, help me be patient when someone's hurrying me! Amen.