Luke 5:1-11 (NIV)
1 One day as Jesus was standing by the Lake of Gennesaret, the people were crowding around him and listening to the word of God. 2 He saw at the water’s edge two boats, left there by the fishermen, who were washing their nets. 3 He got into one of the boats, the one belonging to Simon, and asked him to put out a little from shore. Then he sat down and taught the people from the boat.
4 When he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, “Put out into deep water, and let down the nets for a catch.”
5 Simon answered, “Master, we’ve worked hard all night and haven’t caught anything. But because you say so, I will let down the nets.”
6 When they had done so, they caught such a large number of fish that their nets began to break. 7 So they signaled their partners in the other boat to come and help them, and they came and filled both boats so full that they began to sink.
8 When Simon Peter saw this, he fell at Jesus’ knees and said, “Go away from me, Lord; I am a sinful man!” 9 For he and all his companions were astonished at the catch of fish they had taken, 10 and so were James and John, the sons of Zebedee, Simon’s partners.
Then Jesus said to Simon, “Don’t be afraid; from now on you will fish for people.” 11 So they pulled their boats up on shore, left everything and followed him.
Reflection:
The sea in this story is the place where the disciples’ faith in Jesus ‘began.’ It’s evident from Simon’s response that he wasn’t 100% certain what would result from simply trusting and obeying Jesus’ command to let down his net.But the result was a catch of fish so huge that their nets began to break and boats began to sink.More so, towards the end of the passage we see that Simon and his companions pulled their boats to shore, left everything and followed Jesus.The disciples knew Jesus had something more to life than what they could have imagined.Jesus did and does.
Response:
Like many of our stories, God stepped into Simon’s life and did something unique and amazing.Let’s spend some time remembering and thanking God for all of those times.Let’s pray for our missional groups and campuses that we, like the disciples, would respond to the amazing love of our Lord by continuing to trust Him with everything and follow His leading and voice alone.
