Thoughts About Luke 5:4-9

I came across this section in Luke the other day:

Luke 5:4-9

When he (Jesus) had finished speaking, he said to Simon, “Put 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.

When Simon Peter saw this, he fell at Jesus’ knees and said, “Go away from me, Lord; I am a sinful man!” For he and all his companions were astonished at the catch of fish they had taken…

I’ve read this before, but this time around Peter’s (Simon’s) response struck me like never before. His response is a clear example of how we might often feel when standing in the presence of our Almighty God. It is in His presence that our sin seems so apparent, more than we’ve ever felt. Like Peter, our tendency might be that we want to run and hide thinking: Don’t look at me, Lord. You won’t like what you see.

But, God’s word tells us that this sort of humbleness is precisely what He desires. Recognizing our sin is the exact place that God wants us. Feeling our short-comings, failures, past or present ‘mess-ups’ is the first step in recognizing that we desperately need a Savior. Jesus reassures us of this later on in chapter 5 of Luke. Jesus answered them, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.” (Luke 5:31) It’s a beautiful thing to know that we need not ‘clean up’ our lives before coming to God. He wants us just as we are. Broken. Humble. With an attitude that is prepared for Him to help us ‘clean up’, and recognizing that He is the only one who can help. Despite our ‘junk’, through faith in Jesus we all have access to God. This is good, and pleases God our Savior, who wants all men to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth. For there is one God and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself as a ransom for all men... (1 Timothy 2:3-6)

In John 10:10 Jesus tells us: I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full. In order to embrace this new life, we must let down our grasp for control. This becomes the next step after recognizing our sin. Surrendering. One time I heard someone say that Jesus is only a crutch for the weak people who can’t figure things out on their own. Among other things, this person has not let go of his need for control. We must admit that we can’t do this on our own. Accepting Jesus as our Savior is what God desires. And yet, it is more than just acknowledging it. It is leaving our past behind and committing our future to Him. A few sentences later after the verses above from Luke, Jesus asks Simon Peter to follow him and become one of his disciples. Jesus asks you and I the same question. Will you follow him? Peter did.