Dear Family and Friends,

“On one occasion, while the crowd was pressing in on him to hear the word of God, he was standing by the lake of Gennesaret, and he saw two boats by the lake, but the fishermen had gone out of them and were washing their nets. Getting into one of the boats, which was Simon’s, 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.” Luke 5:1-11 ESV

Ah, this is such a beautiful story. But what we just read is more than the story of Jesus calling His first disciples. This is the story of a transformation – of an unbeliever to a believer, and then a follower of Christ.

The encounter first begins as Simon lays aside his work, the cleaning of his nets, to accommodate Jesus in his boat. 

Then as Jesus completes His sermon, we watch Simon, moved by the words of Jesus, take the first step towards belief.

He respectfully calls Jesus Master, a person of authority. And in submission to the master’s authority Simon, a fisherman, obeys a man who was not. 

Shortly thereafter, Simon Peter realizes that Jesus was more than a master, Jesus was his Lord! Note his name changed in the middle of the story – a clue that something special had just happened.  

As this beautiful story ends, with Simon Peter, James and John following Jesus, let’s pause to reread the last verse. 

“And when they had brought their boats to land, they left everything and followed him.” 

Yes, this truly is a beautiful and inspiring story.  

But have you ever stopped to wonder… what happened to all the fish? 

Have you ever wondered what everyone else was thinking as the three walked away with Jesus? Are they coming back? That’s a lot of fish, can we take some home? Did Peter’s mother come down to pack bento boxes for everyone to take home?

In all seriousness, these disciples left everything to follow Jesus, a man they had just met. They had no idea where He was going, yet they saw something in Jesus that caused them to leave everything behind – family and friends and the security of their livelihoods. 

This beautiful story is perhaps similar to our own story.

But before we start patting ourselves on the back, let’s stop to ask ourselves these questions: 

What happened to my fish? Did I leave everything behind when I decided to follow Jesus? 

Or am I dragging nets filled with fish, my worldly accumulations, everywhere I go? 

Jesus spoke about the cost of following Him many times. For example in Luke 9:23 ESV Jesus says,“If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.” 

And in Luke 14:33 ESV He says,“So therefore, any one of you who does not renounce all that he has cannot be my disciple.”

There were other times when Jesus was not as clear, like in this conversation. “Yet another said, ‘I will follow you, Lord, but let me first say farewell to those at my home.’ Jesus said to him, ‘No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God.’” ‭‭Luke‬ ‭9:61-62‬ ESV

What is Jesus saying? Let me express this in my own words: he who plows a field while looking backwards will plow very crooked rows. 

Jesus’ message to ‘follow Me’ means to not let anything of this world get in the way. We are so easily distracted by urgent matters, so easily tempted to satisfy our physical comforts and material desires. 

For the few of you who may be asking, ‘are we to sell and give everything to a charity or a church,’ the answer is no, please do not do that. That is not what Jesus is asking. 

Jesus is asking that we make Him and the Kingdom of God our true priority in life. He is asking that we resolve to not let anything keep us from serving Him with all our hearts. 

Jesus is asking that we renounce our worldly accumulations. That we declare, ‘all we possess are no longer ours.’ That we grant the rights of ownership to Him. 

Yes, we can keep our worldly possessions, but our purpose for keeping them changes. He is asking that we no longer look to our possessions to define us, to give us value and meaning, to provide us with security. 

Instead He wants us to see our possessions as what they truly are. They are blessings from God, blessings that are meant to help us fulfill our role in God’s kingdom. 

And perhaps what is most challenging is this: Jesus is asking that we give up our “pursuit of happiness,” our unalienable right under our country’s Declaration of Independence. 

And with the same energy and passion that we once pursued happiness, He is asking that we now pursue and follow Him. 

Let’s close with a time of reflection. 

If you find that the world is distracting, diverting or slowing you down, resolve to leave your fish behind and cut that line.

In love always,