Reading: John 21:1-8
Verse 7: “Then the disciple whom Jesus loved said to Peter, ‘It is the Lord!'”
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Today we begin a 3-day journey through the first part of John 21. It is a three-part passage, so each day will bring us part of the story. Today we delve into the fishing part of the story and what it reveals to us.
As the story begins we learn that Peter and six other disciples go fishing. One evening Peter says, “I’m going out to fish.” The others decide to go along. We don’t know why Peter decided to go fishing. Maybe it was his way of returning to some sense of normalcy after all the recent tumult in his life. Maybe it was to take his mind off of these recent events. Maybe it was practical – food and other resources could have been getting tight. Maybe the Holy Spirit led him to this decision so that God’s plan could unfold.
The disciples fish all night but catch nothing. Early in the morning a yet unrecognized Jesus asks about the fishing and then suggests trying the right side of the boat. Following his instructions, the nets become so full that they can’t haul them in. They go from total scarcity to absolute abundance. It is then that John says to Peter, “It is the Lord!” Except for the last three years with Jesus, fishing is all that John has known his whole life. He recognizes the miracle in the catch. This leads him to know that it is Jesus standing on the shore.
In your life, when has Jesus made himself known to you? When has Jesus become presence to you in a way that you know “It is the Lord?” For the disciples, they came to recognize Jesus because they followed his instructions. That led to the miraculous catch. We too have Jesus’ instructions – we can read the Bible and we can listen to the voice of the Holy Spirit. May we learn to follow Jesus’ instructions so that we too experience his presence in our lives. May it be so!
Prayer: Lord, make me more open to following your instructions, to allowing you to lead. Grant that I may hear and be obedient, opening up the possibilities of the revelation of your power in my life. Amen.