When Jesus Steps into your Boat

There are moments in time that you know your life will change forever.  Perhaps when you saw your spouse and it was love at first date (this actually happened to me and Christiane…well, at least me!)  Perhaps that life changing moment happened when you got that promotion you have been wanting for years.  Maybe, it’s when you finally got the news that you or your spouse was pregnant.  Life changes in a moment.  It’s a line in the sand, a threshold, that you crossed and life will never be the same.

This happened to the disciple Peter, when Jesus stepped into his boat.

We know from other stories that this wasn’t the first time Peter met Jesus.  In John 1 we see that he met Jesus through his brother, Andrew, and spent a day with him listening to him teach (John 1: 35-42).

As Jesus’ popularity increased, he started to draw crowds speaking by the Lake of Gennesaret (or, Sea of Galilee), where Peter fished.  The crowd was pressing in on Jesus, so he saw Peter’s boat empty, stepped in,  and asked to be pushed out a bit. Then He could spoke to the crowd on the shoreline.

When Jesus had finished speaking to the crowd, Jesus wasn’t finished speaking to Peter.

He said to Simon, “Put out into the deep”. (Luke 5:4)

He asked Peter to push out to the deep water and to put out his nets for a catch of fish, but he was also asking Peter to dare to go into the deeper things of God.

Luke 5:4 continues:

And Simon answered, “Master, we toiled all night and took nothing! But at your word I will let down the nets.”

Peter already knew Jesus enough to trust Him, and do as he was told. He cast his nets out again, despite the fact he didn’t catch anything the night before, and deep down probably doubted Jesus.

And when they had done this, they enclosed a large number of fish, and their nets were breaking. They signaled to their partners in the other boat to come and help them. And they came and filled both the boats, so that they began to sink. (Luke 5: 5-7)

What did this catch of fish truly reveal to Peter?  It wasn’t that Peter was so faithful to obey, but that Jesus really was worthy of trust.  It made Peter recognize that Jesus was God, who had power over creation, even down to the fish in the sea under his boat.

We are going to look more closely at Peter’s reaction on Sunday morning’s sermon, but

Jesus’ step into Peter’s boat was no accident.  Jesus knew what was about to take place beyond him speaking to the crowd.  He was calling Peter into a deeper understanding of who He was.  He knew this moment would change Peter’s life forever.  It would call him into a relationship with the Creator of the Universe.  It would call him to leave everything and follow Him.

Spiritually speaking, these life changing moments are easy to miss.  We can get caught up in our day to day activities and comforts, and totally miss the times when God calls us to “push out into the deep”. He calls us to step out of what we have always done and away from that which gives us security and comfort.  He calls us to humble ourselves and listen to God even when it doesn’t make sense (Jesus was a carpenter turned Rabbi giving out fishing advice?!) He calls us to leave our nets and follow him.

Remember, God is after your heart. He knows what will push you to a point of surrender. A point where your heart will grow into loving Him and others deeply. Sometimes, pushing you to renounce life as it is, and trust Him fully.

After the biggest catch of their lives, Peter, Andrew, and the sons of Zebedee were not impressed with their success. In fact, they were willing to lay it all down and follow Jesus.

I encourage you to invite the Holy Spirit to examine your heart. Are you willing to follow Jesus where you may never have been before? Does He have your full attention and complete surrender? If you’re not quite there yet, know that if you are willing, the Lord will shower His grace upon you and walk with you every step of the way until you experience the fullness of His life in you. A life capable of loving, giving, healing, and laying it down for the sake of another.

He wants to set you free from whatever binds you to this earthly life, so you can have a foretaste of what is like to step with Him into the Kingdom of Heaven.  

As you cultivate a listening ear towards God through prayer, meditation, study of Scripture, and the receiving of the Eucharist, begin to listen for these uncomfortable, life changing moments. Moments when He may be calling you to “push out and cast your nets into the deep”, into a deeper relationship with Him. Learn to pay attention to the prompts of the Spirit, even if what He’s asking you to do makes no sense.

Present yourself before the Lord with open hands. He will guide and strengthen you, when you desire His will above yours. You can trust Him. Jesus might be stepping into ‘your boat’ right now. Don’t miss out in following Him.

Blessings and Peace,

Rev. Todd and Dr. Christiane