Because You Say So I Will
Peter and his co-workers had been fishing all night. They were now cleaning their nets. By this time they are certainly tired. Jesus had asked for the use of one of the boats that he might speak to the crowd that was gathered. He put the boat into the water and spoke to the crowd from the boat. After he finished speaking he told Peter, “Put out into the deep water, and let down the nets for a catch.”
Peter and his friends were tired. They had fished all night and had caught nothing. These men were professional fishermen. Now the carpenter was telling them how to do their jobs!
The time of day was wrong, the place was wrong, none of the usual necessities were in place to catch fish. How easy it would have been for Peter to have said, “How about another time?” He didn’t. What he did say was, “Master, we’ve worked hard all night and haven’t caught anything. But because you say so, I will let down the nets.”
If you are familiar with the text you know the rest of the story. Peter and his friends caught such a large number of fish that the nets began to break. They filled the boats so full with fish the boats began to sink. Peter realized his lack of faith and asked the Lord’s forgiveness. Jesus said to Peter, “Don’t be afraid; from now on you will catch men.” So they pulled their boats up on shore, left everything and followed Him.
How many of us could leave our profession when we were at the top and follow Christ? So often we see little need for God when things are going well. We only feel the need when things are out of our control. Peter was at the top of his profession, yet, he walked away in order to follow Jesus. We need an attitude that says to the Lord, “Because you say so I will.” It doesn’t matter if we know the reason. Regardless of cost or direction we must be willing to follow the Lord.
We are part of a fellowship that wants everything in a neat logical pile. We even invent rules to produce those neat logical piles. God doesn’t necessarily fit our logic. We can’t always make sense of what God requires. The sooner we learn that God’s ways are superior to our ways and His thinking to our thinking the better. Sometimes instead of trying to make God fit our rules we just need to say, “because you say so I will.”
Peter and his friends were tired. They had fished all night and had caught nothing. These men were professional fishermen. Now the carpenter was telling them how to do their jobs!
The time of day was wrong, the place was wrong, none of the usual necessities were in place to catch fish. How easy it would have been for Peter to have said, “How about another time?” He didn’t. What he did say was, “Master, we’ve worked hard all night and haven’t caught anything. But because you say so, I will let down the nets.”
If you are familiar with the text you know the rest of the story. Peter and his friends caught such a large number of fish that the nets began to break. They filled the boats so full with fish the boats began to sink. Peter realized his lack of faith and asked the Lord’s forgiveness. Jesus said to Peter, “Don’t be afraid; from now on you will catch men.” So they pulled their boats up on shore, left everything and followed Him.
How many of us could leave our profession when we were at the top and follow Christ? So often we see little need for God when things are going well. We only feel the need when things are out of our control. Peter was at the top of his profession, yet, he walked away in order to follow Jesus. We need an attitude that says to the Lord, “Because you say so I will.” It doesn’t matter if we know the reason. Regardless of cost or direction we must be willing to follow the Lord.
We are part of a fellowship that wants everything in a neat logical pile. We even invent rules to produce those neat logical piles. God doesn’t necessarily fit our logic. We can’t always make sense of what God requires. The sooner we learn that God’s ways are superior to our ways and His thinking to our thinking the better. Sometimes instead of trying to make God fit our rules we just need to say, “because you say so I will.”
