Called
The background to this passage is that Jesus had been teaching and the crowds were crowding him. And so He uses Peter's boat as a floating pulpit. When he had finished, He told Peter to throw the nets on the other side of the boat. Peter was skeptical - he was a fisherman, Jesus was a carpenter. But he obeyed and caught the biggest catch of his life!!His response is a one I can identify with: The moment he recognises God's glory at work in Jesus, Peter is convicted of his own brokenness. This is not an uncommon reaction - the closer we get to the Light, the more clear our own failures and the stains of our sin become. As the bright light of Christ's holiness shines on him, Peter realises his own desperate shortcomings.
In his heart of hearts Peter knows that he has fallen short and that he will continue to fall short. He knows his own failures only too well! He is painfully aware of his tendency to doubt, to shoot his mouth off, and to lose his composure. He knows his own brokenness and in the pages of the gospels we see him fail in all three of the above areas.
Jesus does not dwell on our failures. Knowing all that Peter would do, knowing that Peter would fail, our Lord still attributes worth and value to Peter. He still has a plan for Peter and purpose for Him. He entrusts Peter with a job - to be a fisher of men. In spite of us, even though we will fail, and even in the light of our track-records, Jesus wants to use us and hopes for the best from us.
POSTSCRIPT: Three years later Peter and Jesus are once again standing on the beach. Peter has indeed failed - he doubted Jesus and tried to keep Him from the cross. He lost his composure and cut of the ear of the high priest's servant. He made promises he couldn't keep and denied Jesus three times. But Jesus is still not going away. He has not given up on Peter. Three times - once for each denial - Peter gets to declare his love for Jesus and three times over Jesus says `Feed my flock` Our worth comes from our Lord's attribution of purpose and value, and not from our failures!
| When he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, "Put out into deep water, and let down the nets for a catch." 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." When they had done so, they caught such a large number of fish that their nets began to break. 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. When Simon Peter saw this, he fell at Jesus' knees and said, "Go away from me, Lord; I am a sinful man!" (Luke5:4-11)For he and all his companions were astonished at the catch of fish they had taken, 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 catch men." So they pulled their boats up on shore, left everything and followed him. |
