‘And straightway [immediately] they forsook their nets and followed him.’ (They forsook their nets then, but they went back to them, yet again.
That happens to us. One moment we are scornful of him, indifferent to him, preoccupied with ourselves, and our ambitions, and our possessions and our lives, subject to peer pressure and the world’s opinion around us. Then suddenly – as we hear God's word, or the witness of a friend, or we read the Bible – there is illumination by the Spirit of God, and we know he is the Lord. We know he came and suffered and died, and we are condemned because we are sinners. We are convicted and we need him, and his forgiving love, and we are drawn to him. That's why you read the word ‘straightway’; they couldn't help themselves. They were illuminated and touched, and that is what we pray will happen in the lives of countless people. As the gospel is preached, we pray that the Spirit will touch hearers. It is not the preacher – he has got to do his best; he has got to be clear; he has got to pray for help – but it is the Spirit who enlightens.
Sometimes fuller obedience lags behind. Will you get up early for the world, but you wouldn't get up early for the Lord? Would you make sacrifices for the world, for your job, for your family – well, that may be right – but not for the Lord? That's the call of Christ. He doesn't call all to give up their occupations and professions, but he wants all our hearts, and all our commitment. We will say, ‘Take my heart and let it be, ever only all for thee.’ That's the call of Christ of the disciples.