DROP EVERYTHING
The first thing we hear about James in all of Scripture really tells us a lot about him. Tucked in the middle of Matthew 4 is a very short story, in fact, it’s just two verses long and James doesn’t even say a word in this gospel account, but it’s one in which we get a good sense of James’ character and personality. Because his actions show us how faithful to the Lord he would prove to be for the remainder of his life. Here in these three sentences James and his younger brother John demonstrate their unwavering dedication to Christ by immediately dropping everything to follow their Savior. “21Going on from there, Jesus saw two other brothers, James son of Zebedee and his brother John. They were in a boat with their father Zebedee, preparing their nets. Jesus called them, 22and immediately they left the boat and their father and followed him.”
This is a significant act of faith! It is sometimes easy for us to skim through these couple verses because they come right after a similar calling of Peter and Andrew and they come right before the famous Sermon on the Mount, but realize how great a sacrifice this was for James and his brother to make! The first time Jesus sees them in person he calls them to follow him. James, being the older brother, would have been the one to take the lead, and without hesitation, these two sons of Zebedee stand up, drop everything, and go. They were in the middle of preparing the fishing nets to go out on the Sea of Galilee with their father, and there they left the nets lie. They didn’t wait until they were done with the preparations they had started, they didn’t ask to go out on the lake with their father one last time, they didn’t decide to stay on with their father until he could find some replacements. They left it all behind in an instant. And this was their livelihood! This is how they survived! This is how their father survived! And so not only were James and John leaving their occupation behind, they were leaving their father with a serious shortage of crew members that he would have to fill with other bodies. But James took his brother and left anyway. James obeyed the Lord’s words even though it wasn’t going to be easy. He listened to the Lord’s words despite what others might have thought. He followed the Lord’s words regardless of what he might have wanted to do otherwise. James and John dropped everything because their Savior’s words were more important to them than anything else.
Since my office is at home and I am around my family a lot during the day, a few of the things I’ve found myself saying to my children on a regular basis are: “Just wait. I’ll get it for you when I’m done with this… Hold on a second. Be patient… I need to work on this right now. I’ll do that for you when I’m ready.” There are plenty of times when they ask for things while I’m in the middle of writing a sermon or studying Scripture or preparing a Bible class or something else. And so I ask them to wait until I am free to help them with what they need. And that’s OK. There are any number of situations in each of our lives in which people or tasks are put off for a time until we are finished with what’s at hand or when we have the motivation to get it done or when things are more convenient for us. There’s nothing wrong with that. It is wrong, however, when we treat God’s Word in the same way. When we put off what God tells us in his Word until we are finished with what’s at hand or until we have the motivation to get it done or when things are more convenient for us. We don’t always consider God’s Word more important than anything else in our lives. And sometimes we even treat it as a hassle that gets in the way of how we want to live.
Jesus has never called us in the same way he called James and John on the Sea of Galilee. But consider some of the things that the Lord has asked us to do. The Lord tells all of us to “Preach the Word; be prepared in season and out of season” (2 Timothy 4:2). But many times, as we are faced with multiple things to do in our lives at any given time, instead of immediately dropping everything to preach the Word as he tells us to do, we usually say, “Yeah, it’s just not a good time for me right now. The situation and audience isn’t right. Maybe I’ll get to it later.” And so the Lord tells all of us again, “In everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God” (Philippians 4:6). But instead of dropping everything in order to go to the Lord in prayer, we usually say, “Ya know, I’m a little tired right now. I probably wouldn’t be able to concentrate anyway and so I’ll just wait for a more convenient time to pray.” And so the Lord tells all of us again, “Let us do good to all people, especially to the family of believers” (Galatians 6:10). But instead of dropping everything to care for our fellow brothers and sisters like we should, we usually say to ourselves, “That takes so much effort. That takes so much time. That takes so much sacrifice. I would rather just relax than go out of my way again to lend a hand that’s not even appreciated anyway.” And so the Lord tells all of us again, “Let the Word of Christ dwell in you richly” (Colossians 3:16). But instead of dropping everything and setting aside a sufficient amount of time to read God’s Word so that the Holy Spirit can do his work in our hearts, we sometimes say, “I just don’t have time today. Things are a little bit crazy right now. My schedule is booked. It’s just one of the things that had to get temporarily cut.”
We hear what God says in the sermon every week, in the Scripture readings each Sunday, in Bible classes, in devotion books, and in our daily reading of God’s Word at home. But it is one thing to hear what God says. It is completely different thing to be prepared to drop everything and do it - to know that his Word outweighs your comfort zone, his Word overrides your busy schedule, his Word take precedence over every person, every event, and every personal preference in your life. It is difficult for us to approach God’s Word with the conviction that whatever he says, I will drop everything and do it no matter what. Whatever he promises, I will drop everything and believe it no matter what. And because this is so hard for us to do, we rarely do it! We’d rather continue to do what we’ve always done and believe what we’ve always believed. We don’t want to make that sacrifice and follow God’s Word to the extreme! Because then we would have to completely change our lives! Then we would have to reevaluate our way of thinking. We would end up having to drop everything just to do what the Lord wants us to do!
Of course, that’s exactly what James did. He dropped everything to do what the Lord wanted him to do. He left his job, he left his father, he left the future he had planned on, he took his brother with him and he followed the Lord. And so why did he do it? Why did James drop everything that was so familiar to him, everything that was working just fine, and immediately commit to the Lord’s Word without question and without complaint? James dropped everything for the Lord because he knew that the Lord had dropped everything for him.
And James not only knew that, he would see that with his own eyes. For the next three years, while he followed Jesus around as one of his 12 disciples, he would see Jesus sacrificing his time and his efforts and his privacy and his sleep and his reputation and his body and his very life. James would see Jesus drop everything so that sinners could be saved. And we see the same thing as James did when we look back at what he experienced first hand. From the pages of Scripture it is clear that when we were in desperate need of a Savior, Jesus did not wait until it was convenient for him to come down to this earth. He came when it was least convenient: when the ruler of the land would want to take his life as a child, when his earthly parents would be poor and young and unmarried and miles away from home, when the political situation in the country would be unstable at best, when his own countrymen would be violently resistant to a man from among their own people, when the Roman ruler would not have enough courage to stand up against a bloodthirsty crowd, and when the preferred mode of execution of that time would be the incredibly painful death of crucifixion. It was not convenient for Jesus to come down to this earth when he did. But it was exactly the right time. Because he knew it had to be done. He knew he couldn’t put it off for a “better” time. And so he dropped everything. Jesus left his home in heaven, he put his godly powers in his back pocket for the moment, he set aside the outward glory of his power and majesty so that he would be seen as a lowly servant, he even gave up his life for people that didn’t come close to deserving it. Jesus dropped everything for you. He selflessly sacrificed himself for your sake, without once considering what would be best for him.
And that’s still true today. The Lord still drops everything for you on a regular basis. When you pray, he drops everything! No matter what he is doing, no matter what he is involved with, he gives his full attention to your words when you come to him in prayer. He doesn’t brush you off. He doesn’t tell you to wait. He doesn’t ask you to get back to him at a more appropriate time. He drops everything and listens to every one of your fears and your pleas and your problems and your pains. He takes your thoughts into account and then he gives you exactly what you need. Every time. He gives you instant access to his throne in a moment’s notice because you are more important to him than anything else in this world.
And so that means he drops everything to protect you and provide for you and take care of you as well. When you are in need, when you are in trouble, when you don’t know where else to go, the Lord doesn’t wait. He is right there. He stretches out his hand and catches your fall. He opens up his arms and brings you close to his side. He reaches into the depth of his treasures and brings out so many blessings that you can’t possibly catch them all. Not only when you need them but before you need them. Not only if you ask but before you ever know. The Lord has dropped everything to take care of you. He is not interested in creating other worlds, he is not occupying himself with some sort of godly hobbies, he is not blindly engrossed in the minute details of running this earth. The Lord only cares about you. Because you are the one he died for. You are the one he rose for. You are the one he cares for. You are the one he loves.
Knowing this, James did not hesitate to drop everything for his Lord. He knew what the Lord had done, he knew what the Lord would do, and he was happy to thank the Lord in whatever way he could. We have that same opportunity. We might not be called to physically follow Jesus on this earth, but we are given many more chances to show him our appreciation. “Go” into all the world preaching the gospel. “Honor” all those in authority. “Love” one another as Christ has loved you. “Submit” to one another out of love for Christ. “Sing” to the Lord. “Pray” to the Lord. “Be faithful” to the Lord. There are hundreds of things we can do to praise our God. Of course, these things won’t be all that easy to do. They certainly weren’t for James who was murdered soon after Jesus ascended into heaven because of what he did, the words he spoke, and the Savior in whom he believed. But these things are wonderful ways in which we can thank our Lord for what he has done for us. Approach the Word of God with that kind of attitude James displayed. Be aware of all of the things that will please your Savior. Be ready to immediately and unselfishly do whatever God wants you to do. Be prepared to drop everything for your Lord because he has dropped everything for you.
Amen.
“May the favor of the Lord our God rest upon us; establish the work of our hands for us - yes, establish the work of our hands.” - Psalm 90:17
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