Rev Gav
Follow
Luke 5:8-11
8 When Simon Peter realized what had happened, he fell to his knees before Jesus and said, “Oh, Lord, please leave me—I’m such a sinful man.” 9 For he was awestruck by the number of fish they had caught, as were the others with him. 10 His partners, James and John, the sons of Zebedee, were also amazed.
Jesus replied to Simon, “Don’t be afraid! From now on you’ll be fishing for people!” 11 And as soon as they landed, they left everything and followed Jesus.
Reflect
Jesus had taught from a boat, and his teaching had so impressed these local fishermen that they obeyed him when he said to push out into deeper water and drop their nets. Even though it was broad daylight and they had been fishing all night without catching anything, they did as Jesus said and caught the biggest ever haul of fish. Their nets were about to burst and they had to call for help to land all the fish.
When faced with the reality of who Jesus was, Simon Peter’s response was to suddenly reflect on his own life and his own level of holiness. You see, God’s mercy and love, when it is shown to us, is like a light shining on our lives. It exposes how we are on the inside and our response is usually to confess, “Lord, I’m a sinful person! You might want to back off from me?” But, with Simon, Jesus did not back off, and God doesn’t back off from us either — quite the opposite. Jesus asked Simon to follow him and Simon had a choice. He could have said, “No thanks!” and gone back to his fishing, or he could have said, “Yes!” and embarked on the adventure of a lifetime as a follower of this rabbi Jesus.
You may or may not be a follower of Jesus. You may not have let Jesus shine God’s love and mercy into your life. You might not have got down on your knees and said, “Get away from me, I’m not worth it,” but today, Jesus is asking you to follow him.
Do
Spend a moment Reflecting on who Jesus is. How will you respond when you come into his presence?
Pray
Holy God
I am not worthy or good enough
to be your disciple,
and yet you invite me to
join you in your mission to the world.
Help me trust in you, and to leave behind
that which will prevent me from following you.
This day and for ever.
Amen.
Think
How easy is it to be like Simon Peter, and fall on our knees before God?
and then
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Sometimes I feel very unworthy to be in God's presence. God knows me, through and through, and when I think on that, I can only feel like hiding or running away. Poor Peter was face-to-face with God, and there was no-where he could run. His only response was to fall on his knees and tell Jesus to get away from him. I get that. Yet, Jesus' response was full of compassion and kindness, and more than that, he extended an invitation to Peter to join him in a mission that would change the world. Perhaps that is the leap of faith, not to believe that God is real, but that God loves us, no matter who we are or what we've done.