Matthew 4:18-22
Full Potential

Walking by the sea of Galilee, [Jesus] saw two brothers: Simon, who is called Peter, and Andrew, his brother, casting a net into the sea; for they were fishermen. He said to them, "Come after me, and I will make you fishers for men." They immediately left their nets and followed him.

Going on from there, he saw two other brothers, James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, in the boat with Zebedee their father, mending their nets. He called them. They immediately left the boat and their father, and followed him.

World English Bible

As I sat and rested after working in the yard this weekend, I admired two large pots of dramatically beautiful plants framing the front walkway. Their pointed leaves are bright green, accented by red, almost purple stems. The mass of leaves is thick enough to hide the plant's stalk, and the entire top of the planter, completely from view. This plant appears to be thriving and thoroughly enjoying the hot sunshine of a Florida summer!

What are these magnificent plants? They are poinsettias—and I did double-check: it isn't Christmas!

This past Christmas, after all the services were finished at the church, my wife took home several of the left-over poinsettias that had been used to decorate the worship space. Most of the foliage that had adorned the steps had already found new spots on dining room tables in church members' houses. The handful of picked-over plants that were left would soon head for the dumpster, but she saw more potential for these plants than a compost heap. With her attention and talent, what were small, red-leafed seasonal trimmings have grown four times their size and dramatically decorate the front of our house.

Silly me—I had no idea a poinsettia could look like that!

In a much more profound sense, Jesus did the same thing with these four fisherman in this scripture passage. Society saw rough-hewn men relegated to a dangerous—and smelly—career. Had they been particularly smart, or persuasive, or born into the right families, they would have been something much more than fishermen, but they were none of those things. Everyone could see they were simply fishermen, and would always be nothing more than fishermen.

Jesus saw something entirely different. He saw sprouts of faith that would grow strong over time. He saw His chosen inner circle of disciples. Incredibly, He saw a bold evangelist, a passionate witness, a faithful martyr, and a persuasive letter writer in these four men that would not have gotten a second look from any other stranger walking on that shore. There were no indications that these men mending their nets would hold together the believers in the Way in the face of persecution and would draw thousands of people into God's hold. Indeed, as we read their stories in the gospel accounts, we marvel at how ill-prepared these men appeared to be to serve the cause of their Lord!

We can observe in other people and in ourselves physical appearances, talents, habits, and personalities, but only God knows our true design. God knows that appearances are misleading. God knows that the greatest strengths must come through weaknesses. Most of all, God knows that the most important prerequisite to success is not our ability to influence others but our willingness to be influenced by and surrender to God.

We cannot be faithful to God and ignore this truth about the full potential of those around us. We cannot commit ourselves to follow God's Plan for our lives without recognizing that God's design for us can be something entirely different than what we think it would be. We cannot know all the potential that God has constructed in us, but we can each be certain that what God sees in us is magnificent!