16And as He walked by the Sea of Galilee, He saw Simon and Andrew his brother casting a net into the sea; for they were fishermen. 17Then Jesus said to them, "Follow Me, and I will make you become fishers of men." 18They immediately left their nets and followed Him.
19When He had gone a little farther from there, He saw James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, who also were in the boat mending their nets. 20And immediately He called them, and they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired servants, and went after Him.
What is the training that is required to become a disciple? Nothing, simply follow Jesus. Here were four men, whose background was fishing. I can't believe any of them ever even had a dream to become fishers of men. They simply heard the calling, dropped what they were doing, and followed Jesus.
This is the part that would be hard for me if Jesus asked me to be a disciple. Drop what I am doing and follow Jesus. Do I have the courage to quit what I am doing? But what I am doing seems important. My job provides finances for the way we like to live and allows for extra charitable giving, I take care of many things to keep my family comfortable and happy, I feel responsible for many things. If I didn't do these things, would everything fall apart? If I heard the call, could I let go of all these "important" responsibilities I have and follow Jesus, or would I want to block out the call?
Also, what of Zebedee? Here it looks like he had a family business going -- possibly run by his father before him -- possibly with hopes of his sons taking over the business eventually. It would be tough for the sons to leave and dash a father's hopes.
Though one thing I notice today as I read this passage is something I've never given much thought to before. The verse doesn't mention anyone with Simon and Andrew, though it mentions Zebedee and hired servants with James and John. One thing I firmly believe is that God doesn't give us anything we can't handle without his help. Even though James and John left their father, I think God did it at a time when hired servants were there to help Zebedee with his fishing.
I have to trust in God to not ask me to do something that will harm those I love. God will provide for whatever care they need if He has another calling for me. He will not take me away from doing what is really important, but I must leave it up to God to decide for me what is really important. He will provide where I cannot.
Do I have the training and background needed for whatever calling God has for me? Probably not. But neither did these fishermen. God has different callings for each of us. For some it will be to help through things we are currently doing, for others it will be to drop everything and go a new path. The key is to listen for the call then trust in Him. That must be what these four fishermen had to do.