Straightway Toward Faith

One of our assignments is to choose a Christlike characteristic that we want to work on and develop throughout this class. I have chosen faith.

The world is crazy and our family is facing several challenges right now. I felt that learning more about and developing greater faith would be beneficial.

And Jesus said unto them, Come ye after me and I will make you to become fishers of men.  And straightway they forsook their nets and followed him.

Mark 1:17-18

This is a perfect example of faith. I love the word "straightway" in this verse. They didn't stop to think about it. They didn't worry how they would feed themselves or make money to sustain life. They dropped their nets and went.

Marvin J. Ashton said this:

Straightway is a power word. Straightway is an action word. It means immediately, without delay or hesitation. It means at once. Also, it is associated with having no curve or turn—a straight course, track, or path. Procrastination would be the very opposite of straightway. To procrastinate is to put off intentionally and habitually something that should be done. Procrastination is unproductive delay. Someone has wisely said, “Procrastination is a silly thing, it only makes me sorrow; but I can change at any time—I think I will tomorrow!”

I don’t know if it is possible to develop that level of faith, to immediately “for[sake my] nets and follow him,” but I hope that through studying the life of Jesus Christ through the words of His Apostles, I can at least gain a greater understanding of the principle and cultivate a deeper faith.


Reference:
Straightway, Marvin J. Ashton, April 1983