The First Disciples
5 As the crowd was pressing in on Jesus to hear God’s word, he was standing by Lake Gennesaret.[a] 2 He saw two boats at the edge of the lake; the fishermen had left them and were washing their nets. 3 He got into one of the boats, which belonged to Simon, and asked him to put out a little from the land. Then he sat down and was teaching the crowds from the boat.
4 When he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, “Put out into deep water and let down your nets for a catch.”
5 “Master,” Simon replied, “we’ve worked hard all night long and caught nothing. But if you say so, I’ll let down the nets.”[b]
If you are like me, reading through the advent book with your youngins, then today you are on Luke 5 and if you have the doors book you know what i mean. We read that Jesus is calling his disciples and opening their minds, hearts and souls up to a new thing - instead of fishing for fish, he is calling them to be fishers of men. When Simon trusts the Lord and casts his nets back into the sea, he realizes who is talking to him. When confronted with the Lord Jesus, Simon can only respond, “Go away from me, because I’m a sinful man, Lord.” What does our Lord say to Simon? “Don’t be afraid, from now on, you will be catching people.”
This is such a beautiful interchange of the dichotomy of false identity versus true identity. Jesus calls us to the truth. We read in the New Testament that Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life and that no man comes to the Father but through him. We also read that Jesus says that the truth will set us free. When Jesus meets the woman at the well that had five husbands and is living with the sixth, her life doesn’t change until she is willing to tell God the truth. Do you see? The moment that we tell Jesus the truth, he sets us free. And he doesn’t finish there. He told Peter not to be afraid, and he tells us not to fear.
Jesus forgives and heals. Are you willing to tell him the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth? Are you finding yourself in this Advent season lacking, or sad, or depressed? Don’t be afraid. Trust in Jesus. Believe that God sent him to save us. Be confident in knowing that Jesus is, in fact, The Way, The Truth and The Life that will set each and every one of us that admit, believe and confess that Jesus is Lord. (Admit we are sinners in need of saving, believe that Jesus is the Lord and confess that we are sinners and he is Lord and Scripture tells us that we will be saved. If you do this, you will be free! As Peter learned his new identity from Jesus, God has created each and every one of us uniquely. He has given each of us our own identity. Are you living out of true identity or false identity? True beliefs or false beliefs?
Remember, Jesus is the Way, the Truth, and the Life that sets us free.
