I've Caught Nothing!
One day Jesus was standing by the Sea of Galilee, when He saw two fishing
boats and some fishermen who were mending their nets. Jesus climbed
into Simon Peter's boat and said to him, "Please row out a little from the
shore." Peter did so, and then rested on the oars and mopped his
brow as Jesus began to teach the people. When Jesus had finished, He
turned to Simon and said, "Row out into deep water and let down your nets
for a catch."
Simon stared at Jesus and answered, "Master, we've worked hard all night
long and we haven't caught a thing. But because You say so, I'll let
down the nets." And so they lowered the nets over the side, with
Simon probably grumbling under his breath to Andrew his brother, "He's a
teacher, but what does He know about fishing?" Little did Simon know
that the Creator of the world was in his boat and to please Jesus, just
about every fish in the lake was going to try and jump into that net!
I've Caught Everything!
It's always wise to obey Jesus as He knows what is best for us.
Simon gasped when he saw silvery fish leaping into his net.
More and more came until the net was just a mass of wriggling fish.
"I've caught everything!" he shouted, but then was horrified as the net
began to break! "Too many!" he yelled as he and Andrew tried to
grab every side of the net at the same time. "Help!" he screamed to
his partners in the other boat, "Come and help us or we're going to lose
our net!"
Their partners, James and John, rowed over as fast as they could and came
up with a splash of oars. Their eyes nearly popped out when they
saw Simon knee-deep in fish. "Quick," he gasped, "Help me and
Andrew pull in the net!" They struggled to pull the net over the
side of the boat. Soon both boats were so full of fish that water
started to pour in and the boats began to sink!
Catching Men:
Simon Peter was astonished at the size of the catch of fish they had taken
and so were his partners. Falling down before Jesus on his knees he
cried, "Go away from me, Lord, for I am a sinful man!" But Jesus
already knew this and had a great plan for Simon's life. Jesus also
has a great plan for each of one of us today. But what did Jesus do?
He just looked lovingly at that rough fisherman and gently said:
"Don't be afraid Simon, from now on you will catch men."
Simon must have pointed at himself and said, "Who me Lord?" and Jesus
just smiled and nodded. And so Simon, who became the Apostle Peter,
slowly rowed ashore. With his brother Andrew, and with James and
John, they pulled their boats up onto the beach and left them - boats,
nets, fish and all! And they followed Jesus and went on to become
His disciples and to serve Him for the rest of their lives.
Fishers of Men:
Jesus wants to make each one of you into a "Fisher of Men" or rather a "
Fisher of Kids" by telling other children that God loves them. You
can tell them how you asked Jesus to come into your heart, and how He
made you into one of God's children. You can pray and care for your
friends and soon some of them will come to love Jesus!
As we finish, are you a just fish wriggling in a net, or are you going to
be a "Fisher of Kids" for Jesus? I hope you are, so let's pray and
ask Jesus to make you into a great Fisher!
God bless.