“Same Old, Same Old”,
Or the Other Side of The Boat?
Simon Peter said, “I’m going fishing.” “We’ll come, too,” they all said. So they went out in the boat, but they caught nothing all night. 4 At dawn Jesus was standing on the beach, but the disciples couldn’t see who he was. 5 He called out, “Fellows, have you caught any fish?” “No,” they replied. 6 Then he said, “Throw out your net on the right-hand side of the boat, and you’ll get some!” So they did, and they couldn’t haul in the net because there were so many fish in it.
John 21:3-6 (NLT)
Peter went back to what he knew, but the result was the same old struggle to get by. He was then asked a really, really good question, “Have you caught anything?”
What do you do with resurrection? God did it. Easter’s over. Now what? Peter went fishing. But there were no bites.
Peter went back to what he knew best. Back to the same old, same old. Even though I keep doing that myself, it’s not very satisfying, lots of “catchless” fishing trips, so to speak. But when I break out of the old pattern and do something new, things are . . . . well, they are frequently different . . . . even life-giving.
Jesus Christ is raised from the dead. The New Creation has begun. It’s here. Someone has actually come back from the dead with a brand new body, and that very same life-giving power has been at work on this planet in various ways for 2,000 years. Jesus’ resurrection happened by the power of the Holy Spirit and that very same resurrecting, restoring, life giving Holy Spirit is now at work in the world and in you if you choose to believe and to act.
Peter and friends caught no fish until Jesus broke in and told them to do something new, to act on what he said even though it sounded weird. Then came the catch.
When I’m stuck in the same old, same old, I need to listen to the Spirit of Jesus and then act on it. When I do there’s LIFE to be lived. But I must act, not just “sit there”.
As soon as the car gets back, I think I’ll go to the high school and practice my tennis serve. Yes, sometimes the Sprit of Jesus leads us to do weird things, even things that bring us pleasure. Imagine that.
Something new/something old...like signing up to do Project RAKE when you haven't done it for a while.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the comment that the Spirit of Jesus allows there to be so much to do in life. Many times I feel weighted down because I think that the only way to follow Christ is to witness or preach, although I am not a preacher, and when I am doing something fun I am not serving him.
ReplyDeleteThe fact that God created the world and us and even said "It is good" has to mean more because in the beginning there was no one to witness to. This is an extremely hard concept for me to grasp because I know that one's life cannot be a continual pursuit of pleasure. I am working real hard to try to grasp what it means to do everything I do for the Lord.