May 21
Bible Reading: John 21:4-14
John 21:5-6, “Jesus said to them, ‘Children, do you have any fish?’ They answered him, ‘No.’ He said to them, ‘Cast the net on the right side of the boat, and you will find some.’ So they cast it, and now they were not able to haul it in, because of the quantity of fish.”
Since my youth, I’ve loved fishing. I can still remember those boyhood fishing trips, with my dad leading the way on a path and me doing my best to keep my fishing pole untangled. Dad took me fishing countless times in lots of different lakes and rivers, to fish for trout and salmon and steelhead. Fresh out of high school, I commercially fished by myself out of Depoe Bay for salmon. Since those days, I’ve been fishing more times than I can recall. And, like those disciples, I had many occasions where I caught nothing, or in fishing lingo terms, I got “skunked.”
Success in fishing depends on many factors. You need to fish in the right season for the right species and at the best time. Water conditions, use of the right bait, and fishing at the right depth are all important. It helps to have some experience. A lot goes into being a successful fisherman.
Peter was an experienced fisherman. And that’s what he was doing when Jesus first called him as a disciple. He’d spent all night fishing, for that was the best time to fish since the fish were less likely to see their nets. He and his friends had caught nothing, but then, at Jesus’ command, they headed back out and let down their nets. They caught so many that their “nets were breaking” and their boats “began to sink” (Luke 5:6-7). In a déjà vu experience, a similar thing happened when they met with the resurrected Jesus. They’d caught no fish, but at His command they cast their net on the right side of the boat. “They were not able to haul (in their net), because of the quantity of fish” (John 21:6). The two fishing experiences, and the lessons they bore, seem very similar, but there is an important difference. Peter’s utter failure in his three-fold denial worked, on the second occasion, to emphasize the fact that Peter couldn’t do a thing apart from Jesus.
Jesus had called Peter to be a fisher of men, and He was working to restore Peter to that calling. Not many weeks later, Peter would boldly proclaim the truth about Jesus before a crowd of thousands. Three thousand souls would respond. Then, following Peter’s second sermon, there would be another five thousand. It did not happen because of Peter’s wisdom or planning or strength, but by the Spirit working through Peter and the disciples. And that was the point. It was all akin to what Jesus had previously taught: “Apart from me you can do nothing” (John 15:5). Ministry was not him doing for Jesus, but Jesus working through him. Anybody can catch fish, but it is only by the power of the Spirit (Jesus working in and through us) that we can do anything of worth in the spiritual realm! In fact, through the working of the Spirit in us, God “is able to do far more abundantly beyond all that we ask or think” (Ephesians 3:20)! And that’s a big catch!
“Service without Him and without His guidance is barren…But if we are…obedient to His words, and follow His directions, His own gracious power will accompany our toil.”—Arno C. Gaebelein
CHANNELS ONLY
How I praise Thee, precious Savior,
That Thy love laid hold of me;
Thou hast saved and cleansed and filled me
That I might Thy channel be.
Refrain:
Channels only, blessed Master,
But with all Thy wondrous pow’r
Flowing through us, Thou canst use us
Every day and every hour.
Just a channel full of blessing,
To the thirsty hearts around,
To tell out Thy full salvation,
All Thy loving message sound. [Refrain]
Emptied that Thou shouldest fill me,
A clean vessel in Thy hand;
With no pow’r but as Thou givest
Graciously with each command. [Refrain]
Witnessing Thy pow’r to save me,
Setting free from self and sin;
Thou who bought me to possess me,
In Thy fullness, Lord, come in. [Refrain]
Jesus, fill now with Thy Spirit
Hearts that full surrender know,
That the streams of living water
From our inner man may flow. [Refrain]
LookingtoJesus 