Of all of Jesus twelve
disciples, I feel closest to Peter for many reasons and this
story is one of them.
When Jesus told Peter
to follow Him and he will make him fisher of men. Peter obeyed Jesus
without question.
Peter was a big strong
burly man who was a fisherman by trade. One day he toiled all
day and hardly caught any fish to speak of, then Jesus walks by on
the shore as Peter is calling it a day, and Jesus tells him to go
back out and try again. Peter knew that Jesus was not a fisherman
and he could have easily have said, My Lord!, I love you but I just
started to wash my fishing nets, I'm tired and with all due respect
I think I know a little bit more about fishing than you.
Here's were my heart went
out to Peter, He not only loved Jesus, he was obedient to His
Will. Peter went right back out to the place on the water that Jesus
told him to and Peter caught so many fish that God's Word tells us
that his boat could not hold all of them.
Was it a coincidence that
Jesus happened to come walking by at the end of the day instead of
early in the morning when Peter was fresh and rested and ready to
start out with a positive attitude that today was going to be a
great day for fishing.
If Jesus would have told
Peter early in the morning where to go to be blessed with more fish
than he needed for the day. Peter would have been happy but Peter
might have reasoned later that he could have found the same exact
fishing spot by himself, after all the day was still
young.
It was important to Jesus
that Peter not only had faith in Him but that He was obedient to
Him.
Jesus knew that we each
have to go through our own disappointments and difficulties in
life before we each come to a place in our heart
where we really need help.
A place where our heart is
obedient and our eyes are turned towards God.
Jesus knew that Peter had
to be so tired from casting his heavy water soaked nets all
day, reeling them in again and again, only to be disappointed again
and again. Maybe becoming a little bitter and cranky like many
people would have been, thinking what a big time of waste it
is.
Jesus wants us
to believe that He is a reward to those who are obedient to
Him.
All we have to do is do
what Peter did,
Peter knew on that fateful
day that he would not have been blessed for just loving Jesus
in his heart.
He knew that it was not
enough just to have love for Jesus.
Peter knew that he had
to act on his faith by being obedient to Jesus.
How proud the Son of God
must have been to see this big strong burly fisherman act
out on his faith by obediently getting back into his
boat and going to where Jesus had told him to go.
I believe that this was one
of Peter's defining moments of his faith being tested, when he was
tired, disappointed and where he was losing hope at the end of a
very long dreary day.
I can only envision what
followed next, but I suspect that the Heaven's must have opened
up with angel's trumpets blowing when the Son of God looked up
towards His Father and without saying a word, knew Peter had moved
the hand of God to show him favor.
May each one of us, when we
start to lose a little hope and our faith becomes fragile. May we
remember the story of a great man of faith who not only walked
with Jesus.
But he knew that God's love
for us is so great that He will reward those who are obedient to His
Will and His way.
So when we feel tired,
exhausted, and maybe a little hopeless at the end of the day.
And Jesus asks you to try one more time.
May you do what Peter
did?
"God
believes in you.”
Reverend
Michael Cartwright
