Today’s Reading: John 21:7-14
Hearing God’s Voice for Today:
“Jesus said to them, ‘Bring some of the fish that you have just caught.’ So Simon Peter went aboard and hauled the net ashore, full of large fish, 153 of them. And although there were so many, the net was not torn.”
* * * * *
When Peter recognized Jesus on the shore, he swam to him. After he arrived, Jesus asked the disciples to bring him some fish. He wanted to fix breakfast for them and care for their every need.
Peter then went back to the boat and helped haul ashore the net full of fish. It should have torn, but did not. And these were not small fish, but large, healthy, and meaty ones.
How the Lord loves to lavish good gifts on his children. His steadfast grace gives unbroken nets and large fish. It knows no bounds. It never ceases and is new every morning. It is limitless for every day of life. Great is his faithfulness.
The disciples counted the huge haul. There were 153 fish in all. As fishermen, they always counted the number of fish caught before going to market. It was a way of comparing one day’s work to the next, a way of computing success over weeks and months.
Some scholars have suggested that 153 also corresponds to the known number of different people groups at that point in human history. They wonder if this was Jesus’ way of reminding his disciples of their calling to be fishers of men and to take the gospel to every people group in the world. To fish for people’s souls was their primary calling.
There are two specific faces of grace we should note here.
First, Jesus wants to lavish his grace on you personally. It is an amazing grace. It is not only sufficient for everything you face in life, but is also given to you abundantly. He wants to give you unbroken nets of grace, full of large blessings.
Second, you are to be a messenger of his grace. You are a fisher of men. Jesus wants you to have a heart for the entire world to know him as Lord and Savior. He wants everyone, everywhere, to know about his abundant grace. Be local and global when you think about telling others of his love.
As you go, don’t despair about anything. The Lord will supply your every need according to his heavenly riches. Your nets will not break. They are strong enough for your every need. And his fish aren’t tiny, but large. How he enjoys giving you his good gifts!
Find ways to give his grace away to those around you and throughout the world. Just as you need his abundant grace, so do they. Don’t get tired of doing what is good. When you persevere, at just the right time, you will reap a harvest of blessing. Don’t give up.
When you fish for men, you are fulfilling one of the major reasons God created you. There is great joy in knowing you have helped introduce someone to Jesus and changed their eternal trajectory.
The angels in heaven rejoice when even one sinner comes home. Experience their joy as well as you obey Jesus’ call to be his witness and make disciples of all the nations.
You are his ambassador to a dying world that needs his grace.
[from “Hearing the Voice of God” by Pastor David Chadwick, Moments of Hope Church, Charlotte, NC]