By Ansley Zecckine
Published on February 13, 2008
A large crowd gathered together upon a stretch of seashore, yearning to hear truth, three fisherman and their companions after a long and toiling night of work, two boats, and Jesus set the scene for one of the most memorable stories of the entire New Testament.
Jesus stepped into Peter’s boat and asked him to move out a little ways from the shore so he could continue speaking to the crowd, all the while interrupting the fishermen as they washed their nets. Peter complied, and this became his first act towards a lifestyle of obedience to God.
After Jesus was done speaking to the crowd, he asked Peter to move the boat into the deep water “and let down the nets for a catch.” This time, Peter opened his mouth and spoke his mind saying, “Master, we’ve worked hard all night and haven’t caught anything. But because you say so, I will let down the nets,” these nets being the same ones they had already been cleaning for some time.
All of a sudden, a problem arose with the fishing nets; they had caught so many fish that they began to break! Peter sought help from their partners in the other boat, but then they encountered yet another problem; there were so many fish that both boats hauling them began to sink!
Peter and his companions were amazed at what had happened. In fact, Peter fell on his knees and said, “Go away from me, Lord; I am a sinful man!” Jesus replied, “Don’t be afraid; from now on you will catch men.” Upon their return to the shore, they “left everything and followed him.”
If Jesus said, “Peter, I want you to do something for me, but those nets you’re cleaning there are going to break, and both your boats could sink because of it,” then I would imagine that Peter would’ve said, “What? Are you out of your mind? Absolutely not!”
The truth is that sometimes what God wants to do in our lives isn’t necessarily what we think we want or need, but God has a plan, and he remains faithful to us. Near the end of this story we find that Jesus wants to make these fishermen be fishers of men. In other words, he wants to use them to bring others to a point of faith as well.
I find it to be quite interesting that God’s plan was so closely related to what these men were good at doing: fishing. God’s plan would be something they’d truly enjoy. God works this way with us as well; he has given us certain talents, skills, and spiritual gifts, which he has already planned to use in our lives. However, we need to yield ourselves to God that we may participate in his plans.
When we give ourselves to God to be used of his purposes, our lives become like an amazing novel. The only trouble is that we sometimes feel like we’re on page 32. Let us remember who is in control!