From the Edges – Pushing Into the Deep- The Each Other Need

From the Edges – Morning Devotions
Pastor Calvin Cook –
Push Out Into the Deep – The Each Other Need
April 24, 2024

Scripture focus Luke 5:5-7 Simon answered, “Master, we’ve worked hard all night and haven’t caught anything. But because you say so, I will let down the nets.”6 When they had done so, they caught such a large number of fish that their nets began to break. 7 So they signaled their partners in the other boat to come and help them, and they came and filled both boats so full that they began to sink.

When we push out into the deep alone, we will quickly realize that we will be come worn out and weary if we remain alone. When we get in trouble who will rescue us if we are alone. Simon Peter had to realize very early on that the mission that Jesus had called him to was not a mission just for him but for a whole generation that was being raised up as a disciple.

We can almost feel in the scripture focus this morning; the frustration Simon Peter must have been feeling. “I have worked hard all night caught nothing”. There was not much consideration by Simon in this journey until Jesus pointed out it is not just you I am calling it is the others. Notice the shift in the scripture from singular to plural. “I will to When they”(verse 5b to 6a).
Jesus was not asking Simon to bear the load alone, but I believe was raising him to be the leader, the motivator, one of the driving forces of the ministry of Jesus on earth. Today we should be hearing that same call. Not just to be the only one, but the one who inspires, leads, fishes for people, with others who are willing to join in the journey. I stress we are all called something.

As we are called, we need to sort everything out like where the call is coming from. We can easily be deceived by all that is calling to us for our attention. There was no mistake in the call of Simon Peter made by Jesus. There will be no mistake to what Jesus is calling all of us to but with that call the openness to what we are being called to by God.

The end result for Simon Peter and the other Disciples that accompanied Simon on this journey ended in a bountiful return“ they came and filled both boats so full that they began to sink.” In the business world we would call this a “return on investment”.

There is so much more here- the return on our investment to follow Jesus is eternal, to helps others to experience the same we have experienced, it brings about a common purpose and that purpose is to make Jesus known.