The story in Luke 5:1-11 begins with Jesus borrowing a boat belonging to a fisherman named Simon (a.k.a the apostle Peter) so he could teach God’s word to crowds of people. After he finished speaking, he decides to go fishing with Peter, except he gives instructions to Peter on where to fish as well.
I suspect Peter, a seasoned fisherman, is fuming on the inside, thinking to himself, “Jesus, you should stick to carpentry”. Something else worth pointing out: he, Andrew, James and John had been fishing all night without catching a single fish! Peter, the pro, knew that the time to fish was at night when the fish are feeding and when they can’t see the net; not in broad daylight. In other words, if they didn’t catch anything in the right conditions, there is no way they will catch anything in the wrong conditions. We can hardly blame Peter for his skepticism, can we?
I love Peter for what he does next. Despite his misgivings, he lets down the nets because Jesus said to (5:5b). That’s obedience in action for you. Before he has time to sit back and have a cuppa, the net is so full of fish, it begins to tear. Simon signals for his partners to help him out. The fish keep coming. Now both boats are so overfilled with fish, they start to sink. Try picturing that in your mind. This is nothing short of a miracle!
Upon returning to the shore, one would expect Peter to break out in joyful expressions of gratitude to Jesus for the greatest catch of his fishing career. Instead, he falls to his knees before Jesus and said, “Oh, Lord, please leave me – I’m such a sinful man”. What a strange response!
It wasn’t! That’s because Peter has an epiphany! He suddenly realises he is in the presence of someone who is divine. No human could do such a miracle. The other three feel the same but Peter puts their thoughts into words. Just like the prophet Isaiah before him (read Isaiah 6), he becomes acutely aware of his sinfulness and unworthiness. In short, he says to Jesus, “I’m not good enough for you and I’ll never be. Leave me be!”.
Refusing to let Peter wallow in his condemnation, Jesus immediately responds with words filled with love and hope, “Don’t be afraid; from now on you will fish for people” (verse 10b).
We don’t have to be good enough for God to be of value and use to God! We can never be no matter how hard we try, so quit trying! In fact, not being good enough is exactly what qualifies us to receive His grace and mercy, the basis of our new identity and destiny.
By all means dwell on your failures, flaws and whatever else that you think disqualifies you but only if it leads you to God to receive His grace and mercy that says, “You don’t need to be fit and ready before you’re of value and use to me. My grace and mercy is what qualifies you to walk across the room and reach out to the ones and twos I am putting on your heart. You don’t need to be good enough; you just need to be obedient to Me, like Peter and his three friends”.
Following Jesus,
Mark Ng
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