Tuesday, November 16th, 2021

One of the reasons politics inflicts such damage and division into our world is because of the importance we give it. It certainly can be important at times, but because of the fact that no sinner was ever saved by their political leanings, we know it is less important than our relationship with Jesus. For many of us, the impediment to diving deeper into relationship with Jesus isn’t that we doubt him as our savior, it is that we are just too tethered to what happens in this world. Luke chapter 5 recounts how Jesus came to know Simon Peter. It says, “One day as Jesus was standing by the Lake of Gennesaret, the people were crowding around him and listening to the word of God. He saw at the water’s edge two boats, left there by the fishermen, who were washing their nets. He got into one of the boats, the one belonging to Simon, and asked him to put out a little from shore. Then he sat down and taught the people from the boat. When he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, “Put out into deep water, and let down the nets for a catch.” Simon answered, “Master, we’ve worked hard all night and haven’t caught anything. But because you say so, I will let down the nets.” When they had done so, they caught such a large number of fish that their nets began to break. So they signaled their partners in the other boat to come and help them, and they came and filled both boats so full that they began to sink.” Jesus first asked Simon Peter to just “put out a little from shore.” There, he taught, and Simon Peter learned and began to, obviously, respect Jesus, as evidenced by him calling Jesus “Master” after he finished speaking. But Jesus did not allow Peter to remain just a little off shore – he told him to “put out into deep water, and let down the nets for a catch.” Simon Peter and his friends hadn’t caught anything all night, so they doubted what would change now, but they did anyway. From that moment on, everything changed for Simon Peter. This is such an amazing metaphor for the life of a Christian. How many of us remain just a “little from shore,” listening and learning from Jesus, but not following him into deep water? And once out in deep water, trusting our own well being enough to cast out our nets and see what Jesus fills them with? It is no easy thing because heeding Jesus’ call requires untethering ourselves from the dry land that is our world. And we know that in deep water, things can get tough very quickly; but, we know that we are not alone in deep water when we follow Jesus there. Today, consider where you are in your relationship with Jesus – are you tethered to shore, or set sail in deep water?

"One day as Jesus was standing by the Lake of Gennesaret, the people were crowding around him and listening to the word of God.

He saw at the water’s edge two boats, left there by the fishermen, who were washing their nets.

He got into one of the boats, the one belonging to Simon, and asked him to put out a little from shore. Then he sat down and taught the people from the boat.

When he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, “Put out into deep water, and let down the nets for a catch.”

Simon answered, “Master, we’ve worked hard all night and haven’t caught anything. But because you say so, I will let down the nets.”

When they had done so, they caught such a large number of fish that their nets began to break.

So they signaled their partners in the other boat to come and help them, and they came and filled both boats so full that they began to sink." -- Luke 5: 1-7