Gone Fishing

We all study to show ourselves approved in one area of industry or another. This is the way of life, without this motivating drive in our lives where would we be? Probably on some street corner begging bread! We go to school from a young age to prepare us with basic skills that will empower us later on in life. Education is important for our survival. There are those that study a trade, while others seek out degrees, diplomas or doctorates. There are many differing avenues that life has presented for us to pursue in order to survive. This morning my thoughts go to some Jewish fisherman that live more than two thousand years ago; those who lived, walked and talk with another Jew, our Messiah, the Lord Jesus Christ.

These men where skilled fisherman, men who made a living from fishing, they would have supported their families with their knowledge and skill in catching fish. There were no “fish finders” (sonar devises) helping them to locate schools of fish. They would have had to apply themselves cunningly using all they had been taught to fill their nets. And obviously they would of filled their nets regularly, or why else continue with fishing, begging no doubt would of been more lucrative, it wasn’t, hence their dedication to their trade. It is important to understand who they were and what they understood, they were fishermen.

How often have I toiled in what I have known in order to get ahead? It is not as if I would put on a doctors clock and venture into sick homes trying to heal the sick, this would be fruitless as I wouldn’t have a clue where to begin. But put a camera in my hand and I would be comfortable and confident going up against the best. But how often are we taught from God’s word to trust Him? The bible is full of this mindset; we are called to have faith not in our own abilities but rather faith toward God. Before anyone gets ahead of themselves, I am not for one minute implying that a man shouldn’t work as he siesta’s all day under some tree waiting for bread to fall from the sky. The Apostle Paul’s teaching is clear; “For even when we were with you, we would give you this command: If anyone is not willing to work, let him not eat.” (2Thessalonians 3:10) – However we often err on the side of independence, “I did it my way”!

Here we have Simon Peter a man who had was now discouraged, his teacher and friend Jesus was no longer with Him, He had been crucified and he had seen Him die. When challenged, he denied that he knew the lord Jesus, not once, but three times. I think I am able to relate with some degree to where his head was; after all he had come to understand; he had been taught by the world’s greatest teacher what life was all about. A man once full of hope, now hopelessness had engulfed him, what else could he do but go back to what he knew; “Simon Peter said to them, "I am going fishing." They said to him, "We will go with you." They went out and got into the boat, but that night they caught nothing.” (John 21:3)

You see once a man has come face to face with this Jewish man the Lord Jesus, it is a futile exercise to pretend that life can carry on like it once did. Nothing can or will ever be the same. Simon Peter worked all night with James and John with all their knowledge about fishing and caught nothing. It was not as if they had chosen to sit under some tree hoping for fish to fall from the sky, they had applied themselves diligently and yet their nets remained empty. Was there now a lack of fish in the sea, certainly not! We know that there where fish for once there master came and they followed His instruction the net burst with fish.

What then is the lesson? Everything we now do as Christians must spring from our dependency upon our God, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and we must look to our Saviour the true Messiah the Lord Jesus as our first port of call and not as an afterthought. Seek first His will in our lives and not the other way around.

We see that our God did not disregard these fishermen’s ability to catch fish; in fact He used their boat and their net as well as their understanding of how to haul in the net to bring about a miraculous feat, as their net burst at the seams with fish. You see no matter how skilled we are without Him we can do nothing and there are times in our lives, when we forget this valuable lesson and need to be reminded. But with Christ we can do all things...     

This morning I commit this day to you my God, I pray for an ability to seek out His righteousness in my life, forgetting that which has past, seeking out grace in order to lay hold of the gift of eternal life, bringing glory to my God and my King, Praise the glorious name of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Signing off

Tyrone