They had been out all night. Even though the nets were empty, they still needed to be cleaned. A night of hard work, with nothing to show, and still the nets had to be cleaned. Jesus stepped into Peter's boat and asked him to push it out into the water. This is where he sat and taught the crowds.
And Peter listened. He may have gone back to cleaning the nets. More likely he was still sitting in the boat with Jesus.. But he listened. Imagine his surprise when Jesus was done talking to the crowd and said to go out where it was deeper and let down the nets to catch some fish. In typical Peter fashion, he argued with Jesus. "We worked hard all night and didn't catch a thing." Then he added, "But if you say so, I'll let the nets down again." Peter had listened.
Peter and his partners were about to win the biggest fish lottery they had ever seen. The nets were so full they began to break. It took 2 boats to bring in all the fish. Water sloshed over the sides as they headed back to shore. The boats were on the verge of sinking under the heavy load. Peter was awestruck.
When the boats came to shore, Peter and his partners (James and John) left everything.
Their numbers were just called in the fishing lottery and they walked away.
This was their biggest catch ever and they turned from it.
They had won! Yet, they followed Jesus.
They left everything. Everything!
They left their world behind and became a different kind of fishermen. Jesus told them now they would fish for people.
Lives changed forever.
(Luke 5:1-11)
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