Decisive Encounters. Roberto Badenas

. In the religious field, a lukewarm attitude is usually referred to as “the Church in Laodicea» (Rev. 3:14-22).

      26 . Dr. Augusto Cury talks about the wisdom of Jesus in this way: “There are two types of wisdom: and one is far superior to the other. The first type is measured by how much a person knows, but the second is gauged by the extent to which a person is conscious of how little he really knows.” True wise men are the most convict of their ignorance […]. Superior wisdom tolerates, inferior wisdom judges; superior wisdom relieves, inferior wisdom blames; superior wisdom forgives, inferior wisdom condemns. Inferior wisdom has diplomas, no one graduates in superior wisdom, there are no masters or doctors and everyone is an eternal apprentice.” (The Master of Love. Analysis of Christ’s Intelligence, Nashville: Grupo Nelson, 2008, p. 15)

      27 . Ellen G. White, Ministry of Healing, p. 51.

      28 . John 7:46.

      29 . Matthew 5:47-48.

      30 . “Jesus has taught something infinitely better than a sophisticated purification or a civic morality based on justice; he has sought to transform men in his likeness, according to the words of his announcer Ezekiel: ‘I will give them an undivided heart and put a new spirit in them; I will remove from them their heart of stone and give them a heart of flesh.’” (G. Papini, The Story of Christ, p. 326)

      31 . In the Hebrew tradition, manual labor is sacred: “He who works for a living is greater than he who shuts himself up in idle piety,” Because God already put man in the Garden of Eden“to work it and take care of it” (Gen. 2:15). And the work is so honorable, they go on to add, that: “an artisan at his work does not need to defer to the greatest of doctors.” Therefore, to name just a few of the most prestigious rabbis, Hillel was a woodcutter, Yehuda a baker, and Yohanan a cobbler. The first great Christian rabbi, Saul of Tarsus, was a tentmaker (Acts 18:3).

      32 . The word that our Bibles translate as “church” (ekklesia in Greek) means a gathering of people who have replied to an invitation (Matt. 16:18). “With the calling of John and Andrew and Simon, of Philip and Nathanael, began the foundation of the Christian church.” (Ellen G. White, The Desire of Ages, p. 86)

      33 . James 2:27.

      34 . Matthew 22:37-40.

      35 . cf. Enrique Rojas, Live your Life, Planeta: Temas de Hoy, 2013, p. 83.

      36 . Luke 8:1-3 states that there were many female disciples; it mentions by name Mary Magdalene, Susanna and Joanna, the wife of Chuza, the manager of Herod’ household.

      37 . Ellen G. White, Christ’s Object Lessons, p. 79.

      38 . cf. Philippians 4:11.

      39 . Philippians 4:13.

      40 . Dionisio Byler, Jesus and Nonviolence, Terrassa: Clie, 1993, p. 48.

      41 . Augusto Cury asserts: “If the political, social and educational worlds had minimally experienced what Christ experienced and taught, our miseries would have been eradicated, and we would have been a happier species.” (The Master of Masters, 2008, Thomas Nelson, pp. 189-190)

      42 . “As the flower turns to the sun, that the bright beams may aid in perfecting its beauty and symmetry, so should we turn to the Sun of Righteousness, that heaven’s light may shine upon us, that our character may be developed into the likeness of Christ.” (Ellen G. White, Steps to Christ, p. 69)

      43 . Acts 9:2; 19:9, 23; 22:4; 24:14, 22.

      3

      The Call

The lake shines under the morning sun, dazzled by the white hamlet of the fishing town and the luminous sand of the beach. Its blue reflection is slightly broken by the breeze, which scatters a flight of seagulls over the still of the waters.1

Leaning against his boat, in the elusive shade of the sails, a young fisherman prepares his nets, while keeping watch over, on a rustic reed bed, a string of fish set out to dry.2

      Repairing knots is not a pleasant task, and least of all after an evening of a fruitless catch.

      With a tired gesture, Simon drops the old net on the sand and swipes the back of his arm across his forehead, pushing his wet curls back. His exposed back, weather-beaten by the elements, shudders for an instant, beaded with sweat.

      Always the same, every day: in the evening, fishing; in the morning, to the market; then, to repair the nets; and much later, to try to sleep . . . to start again by nightfall. And like so, day after day, always the same. As if his life were trapped in nets even more tangled than those in his hands.

      If only we could purchase new netting, we would not have to spend so much time each day repairing these, so worn and torn. But times are bad and loans are difficult to repay. . . .

      Simon remains still, with his gaze lost in the horizon. The gleaming of the sun over the water forces him to half close his dream-filled eyes. He would prefer not to be a mere fisherman all his life, tethered to an old boat and some fragile nets. Especially now that he got married and must support his wife and his mother-in-law.

      To be a fisherman in Capernaum is to doom oneself to a monotonous succession of nights fishing and of days struggling with runaway sleep. It is to continue being embroiled in a hopeless struggle against misery. Nothing can satisfy the desires of a heart like his, thirsty for adventures and (why not?) for greatness.

      Simon dreams, just like some of his fellow fishermen, of getting out of there and filling his inner emptiness with something great. But the only incentive of each workday is the uncertain catch with which to fill the baskets that his wife takes every morning to the market: some days more, others less, but always the same routine.

      Except today, as the Teacher whom his brother Andrew follows has approached him and has asked to borrow His boat. He wanted to speak more thoroughly with a group of followers, who absorb His words and do not let him leave the jetty. The fame of the Galilean has not ceased to spread throughout the region. A mixed crowd wants to hear in person from the man about whom incredible things are said.

      Because the words of the Teacher have such charm that they ensnare like nets.

      Many still remain there, unable to say goodbye, while the children splash around amid laughter and games along the beach.

      Leaning on the boat, barefoot in the water, this tireless man addresses, friendly and patient, the people who crowd around him yearning for words of life. And every so often, extending His hand to the surface of the water, He splashes the little ones who run around teasing him, without caring that the edge of His robe gets wet.

      Returning to his task, Simon’s attention is drawn back to his tangled knots.

      The fisherman continues