Leave The Stinking Fish Behind

Luke 5:11
And when they had brought their boats to land, they left everything and followed Him.

Story of Peter and an encounter he had with Jesus.
Peter had worked all night and had nothing to show for it, and now Jesus had parked himself in Peter's boat. Peter was on the way home to eat breakfast and go to bed (I kind of infer this in my reading of the Scripture) so the idea of becoming the S.S. Minnow for a three hour tour did not set well with Peter. He pushes out and listens as Jesus teaches the people on the shore. We are not told what the subject was, but I guess that it might have been about the Kingdom of God and the need to repent of sins.

We not told of Peter's response to all of this. Perhaps he was listening intently, or maybe he fell asleep waiting for Jesus to finish. No matter what, at the end of the teaching, Jesus told Peter to take his boat out to the deep water and let down the nets for a catch. Peter retells the story of having worked all night and not catching anything. He then agrees that he will do as Jesus said.

Upon being obedient, Peter's nets become so full of fish that they have to call for others to bring their boats to help with the catch. In other words, Jesus worked a miracle here in front of Peter. In fact as the catch is being taken care of,  Peter responds in Luke 5:8 saying, "Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord!" Peter was suddenly aware of his spiritual state and knew that he was a sinner. Jesus in turn makes the offer for Peter, James and John to follow Him. But the following meant a departing from one life to that of another.

Verse 11 reads: "They left everything and followed Him."
What falls under everything? Everything.
A very simple call from Christ to every believer.
"Follow Me!"
A choice to do so means a leaving of everything we have known or loved.
Here in Rehab, some want the life of sobriety and relationship with Jesus.....
They just don't want to give up old friends (and I use that term---friend----loosely) or old places.
They want the best of both worlds.
Can't happen.
The old lifestyle and this new life of following Jesus can never co-habitate in the same body.
Like Peter, we have, in our old life, labored all night and have nothing to show for it. In other words, we were like the hamster in a wheel....running, running but never getting anywhere. But with a simple call of "Follow me", Jesus took us to places we never dreamed we would go. He lead us to a new life that we never fully believed we could ever have. We simply let down our nets into the promises of His word and drew up the blessings of God.

Jesus called them (the disciples) away from the only thing they had ever known...fishing.
But if a call is made to leave one thing, then we are taken to another already prepared by Christ for us.
We are not called to sit down and wait for the second coming.
We are called to be salt and light in a world that has no flavor and lives in darkness.

Gotta have me some Jesus.....
Thank you Lord for saving me.
I was a mess.
God on each of you stopping by today....

mb