This was sent in our church's weekly bylines, written by one of our elders, and it just struck so deep in my heart. This past year has been a very very weary one for me both physically and spiritually due to the adoption adjustments, some kind of significant health issues, school board duties at my children's school, and just regular life with 4 kids! I pray it refreshes your heart as it did mine:
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.
Just as day was breaking, Jesus stood on the shore; yet the disciples did not know that it was Jesus.
Jesus said to them, "Children, do you have any fish?"
They answered him, "No."
He said to them, "Cast the net on the right side of the boat, and you will find some."
So they cast it, and now they were not able to haul it in, because of the quantity of fish.
(John 21:3-6 ESV)
I was struck while reading this how gentle Jesus is with his tired followers. These guys fished all night on the lake and caught nothing. How tenderly Jesus speaks to them. He, the resurrected Lord, says, "Children, do you have any fish?" No thunder, no dolby soundtrack or special effects. Just a question and a new little command. What caught my attention is how he doesn't send them back out into the deep, or hundred yards this way or that, or give them some big task that they have no energy to undertake. It's very simple, just put the net on the other side. These weary men have nothing to show for a long night of work, but Jesus gets them to do one thing, a small thing really... they don't even have to move the boat. And then, the ropes of the net tighten and sink rapidly with the great influx of fish. There is certainly humor in this -- that there are zero fish on this side of the boat and a hundred-plus big fish on the other side of the boat. But the point is, tired and empty as they are, he gives them one thing to do that changes everything. Sometimes Christ's followers are so tired they can't even move the boat. No matter, just do the small thing he asks of you and see what happens...
They said to him, "We will go with you." They went out and got into the boat, but that night they caught nothing.
Just as day was breaking, Jesus stood on the shore; yet the disciples did not know that it was Jesus.
Jesus said to them, "Children, do you have any fish?"
They answered him, "No."
He said to them, "Cast the net on the right side of the boat, and you will find some."
So they cast it, and now they were not able to haul it in, because of the quantity of fish.
(John 21:3-6 ESV)
I was struck while reading this how gentle Jesus is with his tired followers. These guys fished all night on the lake and caught nothing. How tenderly Jesus speaks to them. He, the resurrected Lord, says, "Children, do you have any fish?" No thunder, no dolby soundtrack or special effects. Just a question and a new little command. What caught my attention is how he doesn't send them back out into the deep, or hundred yards this way or that, or give them some big task that they have no energy to undertake. It's very simple, just put the net on the other side. These weary men have nothing to show for a long night of work, but Jesus gets them to do one thing, a small thing really... they don't even have to move the boat. And then, the ropes of the net tighten and sink rapidly with the great influx of fish. There is certainly humor in this -- that there are zero fish on this side of the boat and a hundred-plus big fish on the other side of the boat. But the point is, tired and empty as they are, he gives them one thing to do that changes everything. Sometimes Christ's followers are so tired they can't even move the boat. No matter, just do the small thing he asks of you and see what happens...
1 comment:
And I love how He turns that little bit of obedience into HUGE blessings.....like saying "yes" to adoption!!
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