Are You Still Holding Tight to Your Nets - Part 1
The stories surrounding Jesus's calling his disciples are spiritually rich and reveal God’s heart and how he pursues us.
Today, we are going to dive into the story of Peter (formerly named Simon), the disciple, and unpack some spiritual truths and principles that relate to our lives. But before focusing on Peter, let's first examine some key aspects of Jesus's call to his disciples that set the foundation for our understanding.
Many of you may have heard the quote, “God doesn’t call the qualified, he qualifies the called.” This is exactly what occurred when Jesus began his public ministry and called his disciples. Remember, Jesus did not put up a sign saying “help wanted”. He did not ask the disciples to come to him and showcase their “skills” or to convince him that they should be considered his disciples. Right at the start, we see Jesus approach his disciples in a way that is completely counter to how our performance-based culture works.
The calling of the disciples actually began with Jesus finding and pursuing them and inviting themto follow him. Jesus stepped into their world, met them where they were, just as they were, and called them out of their current life and into a life of following him. Jesus was not focused on what they could do for him; he was focused on what he could do through them.
Jesus did not require the disciples to get their lives in order, interview for the job, or have specific experience/education/training before following him. Nor did he expect them to:
Lead right away
Have all the answers
Have everything in their life figured out.
Have an abundance of possessions or even an abundance of faith.
Jesus simply asked that they FOLLOW. He did not tell them fully where they were going or what they would be doing. He simply extended an invitation, and that invitation was so life-changing that they obeyed and followed him.
This is so important to grasp and is a game-changer for all of us: Jesus asks us to follow him. He leads; we follow and obey.
We can all face thoughts (either from the devil or our own flesh) of needing to get our lives in order before God can use us or prove to God that we are worthy of his love and being used by him. We must recognize that these thoughts are not from God and couldn’t be further from the truth. Many of us, myself included, really need to hear this and meditate on this truth. Our world is filled with performance, performance, performance. Almost everything is a competition; people are always ranked against each other, and they strive for success with the mentality of “if I only try just a little harder.”
Following Jesus is the exact opposite. There is no performance required for us to be loved and called. There is nothing we can do to earn God’s love!
Now, turning specifically to Peter, his life is full of parallels we can all relate to. We all have a little bit of Peter in us, and I believe we can all learn from his story in some way.
Peter was a fisherman by trade, and most of his life would have been based around fishing. The Bible doesn’t tell us whether he enjoyed fishing, but he obviously had a level of comfort, familiarity, and skill with it, since it was his profession.
Peter's first encounter with Jesus is highlighted in Luke 5:1-11, which says, “Getting into one of the boats, which was Simon’s (Peter), he asked him to put out a little from the land. And he sat down and taught the people from the boat. And when he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, “Put out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch.” And Simon answered, “Master, we toiled all night and took nothing! But at your word, I will let down the nets.” And when they had done this, they enclosed a large number of fish, and their nets were breaking. They signaled to their partners in the other boat to come and help them. And they came and filled both the boats, so that they began to sink. But when Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus’ knees, saying, “Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord.” For he and all who were with him were astonished at the catch of fish that they had taken, and so also were James and John, sons of Zebedee, who were partners with Simon. And Jesus said to Simon, “Do not be afraid; from now on you will be catching men.” And when they had brought their boats to land, they left everything and followed him.”
As we reflect on Peter's first encounter with Jesus, we notice many parallels that apply to our lives today.
Jesus asked Peter for his assistance by using his boat as a platform for teaching. This shows that God wants to partner with us in life and use whatever we have (big or small) to serve him.
Peter’s first step of obedience was simply being available. Peter had no idea what was about to unfold in his life and how God would use him. Like Peter, our first step towards a life of richness with Christ is always just saying yes and being available.
Peter’s second step of obedience involved putting his nets down into the deep water at Jesus' request. Peter obeyed, even though he thought the idea was crazy because they had been fishing all night and had caught nothing. Sometimes our lives can be like this. We are trying, trying, trying, but it is in our own strength. When Jesus shows up in our lives, and we do things his way, amazing things happen, as we see in this story.
Peter’s life was forever changed after a powerful encounter with Jesus. This impacted him so much that his immediate response was “depart from me for I am a sinful man, O Lord.” This was his “life before Christ” to “life after Christ” moment. Like Peter, God often moves in our lives in miraculous ways to get our attention and begin a life of adventure with him.
Peter laid down his nets, left everything he had, and followed Jesus. Peter was willing to lay down everything about his life to follow Jesus at his invitation. He laid down everything familiar to him, everything that seemed safe, everything he was in control of or thought he was in control of (e.g., identity, provision, security, future, etc.). Jesus extends that same invitation to us: simply “follow me”. In order to do that, we must do as Peter did and be willing to lay down everything in our lives (our nets), even things that bring us comfort and security, put Jesus first, and follow him. It is one level of faith to serve Jesus with what we currently have and to be available when he calls upon us, just like Peter did when he let Jesus preach from his boat. It is a greater level of faith to actually lay down everything we have if called to, walk into the unknown, and follow Jesus, relying solely on Him (not ourselves) to provide, protect, and lead the way.
For me, a time that stands out in my own life when I chose to put my nets down was when I first moved to the Atlanta area. I had lived my whole life in Chattanooga with my immediate family and extended family: cousins, aunts, uncles, and grandparents on both sides. Everyone lived in close proximity, so the thought of moving away never entered my mind. When the Lord opened a door for me to take a job in Atlanta after college, I was faced with stepping into something new and unknown, not just for me, but also for my family. Leaving behind everything that was comfortable, everything I had planned, and everything that others had expected. It was a scary decision to move to a city where I knew no one, start over, and take a job I knew nothing about nor felt qualified for, but I knew that was where the Lord was guiding me, and I had to let go of my own life and allow him to lead. Looking back, it was one of the best decisions of my life and opened the door for a life of adventure with Jesus.
The Peter who began following Christ by putting down his nets is not the same Peter who later preached at Pentecost in the book of Acts and helped establish the Church. He would continue to grow in his faith over the years, but it was in this moment, when he put down his nets, surrendered his own will and plans for his future, and followed Jesus, that his journey of growth from a fisherman to the man that Jesus used to launch the Church began.
So, a few questions for all of us to stop and ask ourselves are:
Have we really put down our nets to follow Jesus, or are we trying to follow Jesus while still holding onto our nets? Have we let go of finding our identity in our work or career? Have we let go of striving for financial security and retirement because we want to feel in control? Have we let go of staying in the same place just because it is comfortable to us, even though we know God is calling us to something different? Have we let go of the fear of man and the fear of rejection that comes when we are bold in our faith?
Have we surrendered to Jesus’ Lordship and made everything about our life and in our life available to Jesus to utilize for the advancement of his kingdom?
Praying for each of you to have the courage to lay down your nets and respond to Jesus’ invitation, trusting that He will guide and transform your life as He did with Peter.
Prayer: Father God, I come to you humbly, acknowledging that you have invited me on a journey with you and that you do not expect me to be perfect or have it all figured out before you will use me. Thank you for calling me your own and for loving me as you do. I choose to lay down and surrender my nets to you and your leading. My life and everything I have is yours. Please show me the next steps in life you want me to take and let me know if there are any areas where I am still holding onto my nets. Thank you for working in my life. Amen.
Ryan
