Mark records this story of how to follow Jesus call in 1:14-20:

After John was put in prison, Jesus went into Galilee, proclaiming the good news of God. “The time has come,” he said. “The Kingdom of God is near. Repent and believe the good news!”   As Jesus walked beside the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and his brother Andrew casting a net into the lake,  for they were fishermen.  “Come, follow me,” Jesus said, “and I will make you fishers of men.” At once they left their nets and followed him. When he had gone a little farther, he saw James son of Zebedee and his brother John in a boat, preparing their nets. Without delay he called them, and they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired men and followed him.

Be honest, this seems kind of strange right?  This guy Jesus just comes up and says follow me and they drop what they’re doing and go?  Just like that? Immediately?  Seems kind of rash.  If some guy walked up to me and asked me to follow him, I’d have some questions.  Like: Where are we going? What are we going to do?  How long am I going to be gone?  When are we going to leave? Can I keep my stuff?  How is this going to work out?  Where will I end up?  Can I talk to my family about it?

When Jesus comes calling we have all sorts of questions don’t we?  And to be honest, I think the only answer available to us, is the same answer that was available to them, “The time has come,” he said. “The Kingdom of God is near. Repent and believe the good news! …Come follow me.”

Now as we read the gospels, we discover that although the disciples didn’t really understand this Kingdom story, they did understand that it was about coming alive.  They believed that the Kingdom of God was the story they had been waiting for all their lives and so when Jesus called, they followed.

Just like that…now.  I wonder what I would’ve done?