Rev. Johnson V.
4th April 2010

Our Saviour is alive! Hallelujah! It is important to study the life of Christ, His teachings, His miracles, prior to the resurrection. And it is as important to study what Christ did after His resurrection and before He ascended into heaven. Everything He did, everywhere He went, everything He said during those last few days on earth, was packed with special significance and meaning. After our Lord Jesus was raised from the dead, He was seen in atleast 14 different appearances.

One such appearance was to the disciples while they were fishing. John narrates the incident well in chapter 21 and verse 1 onwards. The scene begins with Peter making a decision to return to his boat and fishing nets. He asked some of the disciples if they wanted to come with him. They agreed. Now, the Lord Jesus had already appeared to the disciples twice before this incident, in His resurrected self. Despite that, Peter and the disciples felt the need to return, to that which they had already forsaken for Christ’s sake. Peter may have repented after denying Christ, but living a repentant life is a lot more difficult.

They fished all night, but caught nothing. Often when we are not where we ought to be, doing something we ought not to do, it will result in nothing. Life is meaningful only when our relationship with Christ is right.

Peter had been in this position before though. It probably seemed oddly familiar to him. He may have even recalled the incident during which he met his Saviour Jesus for the first time. It was under similar circumstances. Yet again, as the darkness of the night slowly gave way to the warmth and light of the sun, our Lord Jesus appeared on the shore and spoke to the disciples. The disciples didn’t recognize Him. How can some of His closest disciples, those who spent every waking moment by His side, suddenly not know who He was? It is because they didn’t expect to see Him there. Are we living lives that are independent from God? Do we recognize His voice when He speaks to us?

The Lord Jesus told the still unsuspecting disciples to let down their nets on the right side of the boat. They obeyed. Their nets were filled with an abundant catch. Their eyes were open so that they recognized that it was their Lord who was talking to them. When we do things His way, He will work miracles in our lives. He cares about the things that concern us. He cared enough to meet the needs to the disciples that day, even though they had returned to their old profession and habits. He will show up!

Immediately the disciples returned to shore. When they got there, our Lord didn’t rebuke them. Instead He gave them breakfast! He invited them to come and eat and have fellowship with Him. Our God will not curse us, even if we have backslidden. He only calls us to return to Him to have fellowship with Him. He wants to be involved in our decisions, in our career, our marriage, parenting…in every part of our lives.
So often when we move away from God, there is great reluctance to get back. Sometimes we don’t even know how to get back. We may even be fearful of what God will think of us, what will He say? We wonder if we have lost our blessing and favour. Instead our Faithful Friend is waiting… Waiting to hug us and to celebrate our return to Him. Once our hearts are turned towards Him, He will meet us more than half way. He will come looking for us. He will show us the way home.