The Roman legions crossed the English Channel, and landed their small ships at the foot of the cliffs of Dover. The Britons looked down and saw them. They laughed, thinking these Romans could pose no real threat to them. But, the Roman commander ordered his soldiers to burn their boats. There would be no turning back. They were there to stay. They had left their boats for good.

When I read that, it brought to mind that scene early in the Gospel of Mark where Jesus is walking along the beach. Little waves from the Sea of Galilee slip up on the sand.

Jesus looks down the beach as far as he can, and he sees - there in the distance - some fishermen. It is Simon and his brother Andrew. As he draws closer to them, he hears the loud swearing of Simon, and as he walks past where they are, he says to them, "Follow me, and I will make you become fishers of men."

It is strange, the effect those words had upon them. Maybe they knew who this man was. Perhaps they were there at the Jordan, and had seen John baptize him. Perhaps they said, "Why it’s Jesus of Nazareth, the one John was talking about. He’s calling us to be disciples. Let’s go with him."

Mark writes, "Immediately they left their nets and followed him." The three of them went a little further down the beach, and there they found James and John. Jesus called them to be disciples, and they left their father, and the servants in the boat, and went with him. (Mark 1:16-20)

The Master has come - and calls disciples.

We are struck by the fact that among the first things Jesus did was to gather around himself a group of disciples. While he was in the wilderness praying, thinking, planning, strategizing, he apparently decided that his method would include training intensely a small group who would carry on the work he was beginning. He came out of that time of seclusion, and announced the theme of his campaign: "The time is fulfilled, and the Kingdom of God is at hand; repent, and believe the Gospel."

Then, he chose twelve to be disciples. "Follow me," he said, "and I will make you become fishers of men."

He called them away from fishing for fish, to fishing for people. He called them away from fishing nets, to open hands. He called them away from the sea, to an ocean of hurting people drowning on dry land. It was as though he told them to burn their boats there on the beach - for they would never be fishing for fish again. Now, they would be fishing for people.

But, why did Jesus call disciples? Would it have been better not to trust these fishermen with something so important? Why not go to all the major cities - Jerusalem, Athens, Rome - and hold great crusades? Instead, we find Jesus keeping to the back roads, going around to little towns few had ever even heard of - Capernaum, Nazareth, Bethsaida, Bethany.

Side roads, villages, small towns; little people no one knew, who were not important, who did not matter, who had no power, pull, or influence - this is where Jesus spent his time, and in the company of the twelve. During those three years he trained the twelve to become the church. He was the teacher, and they were his students.

So, this is one of the most important episodes in the ministry of Jesus. The Master has come - and calls disciples.

And, the Master is calling us - calling you and me - to be his disciples today. But, what does it mean to follow Jesus? We try to make it sound complicated sometimes. But, it is really pretty simple. No one could say in a few words what it means to follow Jesus. But we can state it fairly simply.

I

First, we find a friend - one whose friendship never ends. That is the first thing to remember. This is what makes Christian faith different from all other religion.

Bishop Westcott said, "A Christian is essentially one who throws himself with absolute trust upon a living Lord, and not one who endeavors to obey the commands and follow the example of a dead teacher." All the other religions have as their leader a dead teacher. Christian faith has a living Lord.

I love to read theology. I value greatly the historic creeds of the church. Correct belief is vital. We need to know what we believe. But, more importantly, Christian faith is a relationship.

After John Dean, one of the Watergate conspirators, left Washington, and went back to California, he went down to the library and applied for a library card: He had to give a personal reference. The lady at the desk said, "Just put down the name of a friend." He said, "I don’t even have a friend. If I ever get one I’ll come back."

We all need a friend. Jesus chose the twelve to be his friends. Who were they? Nobody. What qualifications did they have? None. How much training, influence, expertise, did they possess? Zero. But, he said to them, "Follow me." He took them on to be disciples. And, later on, he said to them, "No longer do I call you servants. Now I call you my friends."

He took a bow! of water and a towel and got down on his knees in front of them, and washed their feet. He said, "My body I give, and my blood I shed for you."

He promised them they would have the fellowship, the companionship, the friendship of his spirit to guide them, comfort them, strengthen them - always.

You want to know what it means to follow Jesus? It means we find a friend - one whose friendship never ends.

Do you have any idea how far-reaching the implications of that statement are? If Jesus is like God, and God is like Jesus, Jesus knew and taught a great truth about life - that living and Jesus is a friend - then we live in a friendly universe! It is not evil. It is not senseless. It is not drifting. It is not purposeless. It is not spinning out of control. The one who is in charge is our friend. We have friends in high places. We have some pull. We have an open line. Someone has given us a season pass.

But, many people do not believe this.

A preacher once told me that a woman phoned him and said, "Are you still praying for me?" When he answered "Yes," she replied, "Well, why isn’t it working?" She felt all alone.

Many people in modern society live closed-up lives, behind closed-up doors in closed-up subdivisions. They have closedup minds, closed-up hearts, closed-up hands. They wall themselves off from people, and from God, and wonder why God is not real to them. But we all have this great need inside to find a friend.

After the battle of Dunkirk, a general landed with his men at a British port. An officer told the general how his men could find the rest center, and offered him a ride while his men walked. The general said, "Thanks, but we have been through thick and thin together. I think we’ll stick together to the end." He walked. That is what it means to follow Jesus. It means to share in his promise, "Lo, I am with you always."

II

Second, we learn that to live is to learn to give.

Yes, that too. To follow Jesus is to be a person who has learned that the secret of living is found in giving. That is why the Dead Sea is dead. It receives, but has no way of giving. At one end of the Jordan River is the Sea of Galilee, a beautiful lake filled with fish and plant life. It receives and gives. At the other end of the Jordan River is the Dead Sea. But, it has no outlet. Nothing grows there because the Dead Sea cannot give.

Jesus knew and taught a great truth about life - that living is found in giving, and that death comes from grasping. And, so it was that he said, "Anyone who tries to save his life will lose it, but those who are willing to give their lives for my sake will find life."

This great truth is at the core of what it means to follow Jesus. And whether or not we follow Jesus affects everything we do, and everything that happens to us. It is not just "religion." It is choosing life over death.

Alfred Adler said, "All ills can be traced back to one thing - not understanding the meaning of the phrase, ‘It is more blessed to give than receive.’ "

Jimmy Carter spoke to a class at the theology school at Emory University not long ago. He referred to the hymn, "I Surrender All." He suggested we should sing, "I surrender ten percent of my life to God," - or twenty, or sometimes fifty - but never all.

A man learned he was going to die. His pastor went to see him. The man said, "I haven’t done much for the church. If I give the church one million dollars, do you think that would get me into heaven?" The preacher said, "I don’t know, but it’s worth a try."

One morning during a revival meeting someone asked Dwight L. Moody how many conversions there had been the night before. He said, "Two and a half - two children, one adult who gave half his life."

When we follow Jesus we learn that to live - is to learn to give.

III

Third, we go where he leads us, and serve where he needs us. That is important too. To follow Jesus means to be going somewhere. We are following him toward something. We go where he leads us. We serve where he needs us.

He called the disciples to go with him, and they did. Simon Peter went all the way to Rome. Thomas went all the way to India.

I know a man named John Stroud. He went all the way to Cuba. He was a missionary for years. He would go to a small town, announce a service in the square, preach to everyone in town, and organize a church. When Castro came to power he wanted John Stroud to work for the government. But John Stroud refused to quit preaching. One night an army sergeant came to his door, and said, "Come quick. Bring nothing with you." He took John Stroud and his family and put them on a plane to Miami. The next day the army came to arrest him. The sergeant had saved his life.

Where do you think God needs you? Maybe he needs you to simply be a person who is a Christian right where you are, in your job; or walking down the street; or singing in the choir; or teaching a children’s class. If you are a young person, maybe God needs you to be a minister, or a missionary, or a doctor, or a teacher in some country where people need help - in Africa, or South America, places where the need is.

Would you go where he leads you, and serve where he needs you?

Leslie Newbigin was a student at Cambridge University in England, preparing to go into his father’s business. He decided to spend part of a vacation working with the miners in South Wales who he said, had been rotting in misery for years. He had no success, and felt defeated. But one night, overwhelmed by defeat, he had a vison of the Cross. And he realized it was the only thing which could make sense out of life.

When he finished school he was asked to give one year of service to the British Student Christian Movement. That was all - just one year. But, he wound up in the ordained ministry. He became bishop of the Church of South India.

That happens when you hear, "Follow me, and I will make you become fishers of men."

Are you listening?