Fishers of Men

Luke 5: 8 - 10a When Simon Peter saw this, he fell at Jesus' knees and said, "Go away from me, Lord; I am a sinful man!" 9 For he and all his companions were astonished at the catch of fish they had taken, and so were James and John, the sons of Zebedee, Simon's partners. (NIV)

Acts 4:18-20 Then they called them in again and commanded them not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus. But Peter and John replied, "Judge for yourselves whether it is right in God's sight to obey you rather than God. For we cannot help speaking about what we have seen and heard." (NIV)

I worked amongst fishermen on the West coast of Scotland for nine years, and they were amongst the best years of ministry that I have ever experienced. On Fridays, when the boats came in, I headed down to the wharf and watched them land their catch. These rugged men had spent the better part of a week out at sea, so coming home was a big deal, especially in times of harsh seas and rough weather. I always admired and envied them at the same time. They were men of action. These were courageous people.

I guess that's part of the reason Jesus chose fishermen to be His followers. They were not fair-weather supporters. They were ready for a rough journey and could be relied upon. Years later, when it came to being interrogated by the Sanhedrin and told to be silent about Jesus, Peter and John had no alternative. They had to preach the Gospel. They had to face their foes. They had to get out there, in the rough seas of prejudiced humanity, and catch the souls of sinful men.

Faith isn't easy and telling others about who we believe in, whom we serve, and why we are Christians is sometimes a hard battle. But if we have even an ounce of what faith Peter and John had, we will see lives changed, people healed of the past, and souls reconnected to God through the strength, hope, and love we express.

Prayer: Lord Jesus, help us to be led by Your Holy Spirit today. Keep us in contact with other people - families and friends - and enable us to reach out to them with the Gospel in a loving, yet determined way. In Your Sacred Name, we pray.

Stushie is the writer of the Heaven’s Highway, Stushie’s Stuff, and Aaron’s Beard blogs, which you can link to from this page.