Cast out your net
by Ruth Olsen
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Then Jesus said to Simon, ‘Do not be afraid; from now on you will be catching people’ (Luke 5:10b).
Jesus was standing by the Lake of Gennesaret (the Sea of Galilee) with people crowding around listening to him. There were two boats at the water’s edge that caught his attention, left there by the fishermen who were nearby washing their nets. He got into the boat belonging to Simon Peter, sat down and asked him to put out a little from the shore – an ideal setting on a calm day for people present to hear what Jesus wanted to say to them. I wonder what Simon was thinking? If it were you in Simon’s place, what might you have been thinking?
There’s no record of what Jesus was teaching the people, but when he had finished, he said to Simon, ‘Put out into deep water, and let down the nets for a catch’. After fishing all night and having caught nothing, they would have been exhausted and looking forward to going home for some sleep. But Simon recognised something different about Jesus and called him ‘Master’. Then with the loaded nets, he recognised something else about Jesus and of his own sinfulness. He fell at Jesus’ knees, keenly aware of his unworthiness in Jesus’ presence.
But Jesus reassured him, saying, ‘Don’t be afraid; from now on you will bring in people instead of fish’ (verse 10, CEV). Likewise, it can take time for us to comprehend what God has prepared in advance for us to do (Ephesians 2:10). He meets us right where we are, now.
Father, thank you for creating us anew in Christ Jesus. By your Spirit, train us and lead us to do what you have prepared for us, even now. Amen.
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