Luke 5:3-6
From this story there are 2 lessons.
After an unsuccessful fishing trip Simon and his friends returned to the shore and began to wash the fishing net. Jesus came along, saw them and borrowed one of the boats. Then He sat down and taught the people from the boat. When He had finished speaking, he said to Simon, “Put out into the deep water, and let down the nets for a catch.” (Luke 5:3-4) Simon did that and the result was exceedingly great. Scripture says they caught so many fish that their nets were beginning to break (Luke 5:6). They had to call others to come and help.
“Master, we’ve worked hard all night and haven’t caught anything. But because you say so, I will let down the net.” (Lk 5:5)
From this story there are 2 lessons. Firstly, we must allow Jesus into our boat. Prior to this Simon had spent the whole night fishing but did not catch any fish. As he was cleaning the nets he must be feeling dejected and a failure. But the turning point of the story was when Jesus came on to the scene and initiated a request to use Simon’s boat. Even though this was the first time Peter had met Jesus he allowed Jesus to use his boat. And the result was simply amazing.
Before, without Jesus, Peter caught nothing and felt discouraged. So often we are like Peter, trying to do things by relying on our own strength and ability. But soon we realized we have nothing to show. Let us open our hearts and allow Jesus to come into our lives.
Secondly, Simon not only allowed Jesus into his boat, he obeyed Jesus’ direction to go into the deep despite his initial doubts. He said to Jesus, “Master, we’ve worked hard all night and haven’t caught anything. But because you say so, I will let down the net.” (Luke 5:5)
Going against logic Peter obeyed Jesus by launching into the deep. And he got an amazing result. The Scriptures are full of examples of people who obeyed God despite not understanding why. For example, God asked Abraham to give up Isaac, his son, and he did. God asked Moses to cross the Red sea and Moses stepped forth. Let us learn obedience to trust in God’s direction even if it goes against our logic.
By Rev Philip Lim
Pastor-in-charge