| “So he [Elijah] departed thence, and found Elisha the son of Shaphat, who was plowing with twelve yoke of oxen before him” (1 Kings 19:19). |
| “And Jesus, walking by the sea of Galilee, saw two brethren, Simon called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea: for they were fishers. And He saith unto them, Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men” (Matthew 4:18-19). |
| “And about the eleventh hour he went out, and found others standing idle, and saith unto them, Why stand ye here all the day idle? They say unto him, Because no man hath hired us” (Matthew 20:6-7). |
| As you look at these three verses, you might wonder how they are connected. Two of them talk about those who were called to serve the Lord, while the third one speaks about men who were waiting in the marketplace to be hired. Let me explain the connection, for we can learn from these three verses. |
| First of all, we see that the Lord called Elisha to replace Elijah as prophet in Israel, and if you read the passage, you will see that Elijah threw his mantle over Elisha. Elisha knew immediately what that meant, and he quickly put his affairs in order, and followed Elijah. Likewise, in the New Testament, we find the Lord Jesus calling Peter and John to leave their fishing business, and to follow Him. He wanted to make them “fishers of men.” They immediately left their nets and followed the Lord Jesus. |
| The important thing to see in both of these cases is that the Lord chose busy people to work for Him. He did not look around for people who were lounging about, doing nothing. No, when the Lord picks people to serve Him, He picks those who have energy, and who are busy doing things. So it is today. The Lord does not look for those who are lazy, and call them to work for Him. He picks busy Christians, who do their regular work well, whether it is school work, or in some kind of a job. It is important for each one of us to do what we see needs doing, and to be busy doing. The Lord can use that kind of a Christian. |
| However, in the third verse we find those who were not working, although they wanted to work. In those days men did not always have regular jobs. Those who wanted to work would go down to the marketplace and wait for someone to hire them for the day. At the end of the day they would get paid, and then have to go to the marketplace again the next day. What does this teach us? |
| Sometimes in this world there are people who want to work, but there is no work for them. This is hard, and it can be very difficult, especially for those who have a family to support. For those who are believers, we can go to the Lord to ask Him to help us in such a situation. |
| But we never have to worry that the Lord does not have something for us to do. There is always work for the Lord, even if it is just doing our schoolwork or regular job. We are to “do it heartily, as to the Lord” (Colossians 3:23). Also, if we really want to do something for the Lord, He will show us what to do. |
