Bible Reading: 1 Chronicles 16; James 3; Obadiah; Luke 5
Luke 5:8 When Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus' knees, saying, Depart from me; for I am a sinful man, O Lord.
Don’t talk back! It seems that a hard lesson for a child to learn is first time obedience. It seems that Peter had to learn not to talk back to Jesus as well. The first time he met the Lord was on the Sea of Galilee. Later, as Peter was washing his nets after a long, unfruitful night, he saw all the people wanting to hear what Jesus had to say. Jesus asked Peter if he could use his boat for a preaching platform. Peter sat and listened to Jesus preach. When Jesus had finished teaching the people, he told Peter to let down his net for a draught.
Luke 5:5 And Simon answering said unto him, Master, we have toiled all the night, and have taken nothing: nevertheless at thy word I will let down the net.
It would seem that this seasoned veteran fisherman was a bit frustrated. He had already washed his nets. He was tired. He had loaned his boat to Jesus for a revival meeting and now he was ready to go home. What could Jesus know about fishing? After all, he was from Nazareth. He might have known something about building a house, but fishing was Peter’s business. So with a sigh, he talked back to Jesus and reluctantly obeyed. He was probably going to show Jesus how fruitless this was. He would put the net in the water, wait a while and then pull up the empty net. This would be an ‘I told you so’ type of experience and then he would go home and get some much needed sleep.
But the Creator of the fish was in the boat and Peter caught so many that the net tore. After his partners came and helped him, he fell down at Jesus’ knees and confessed that he was a sinful man. Peter learned a valuable lesson – obey Jesus! Have you ever talked back to the Lord? While reading the Bible have you ever had to stop and explain to God why it is unreasonable to obey him? That is foolish, isn’t it?
Talking back to the Creator is never a good idea. He knows exactly what we need and we are to trust and obey.
In Christ,
Rody
