Thinning out my inbox on my personal email this morning, I ended up with these four emails in a row: 1) At Olive Garden I can get over 50 delicious combinations. 2) Shari’s Café is offering me my four favorites for less. 3) Applebees® has three courses for one amazing price, and 4) at McGrath’s Fish House I can get a free appetizer or dessert.
I have eaten at each of these places and filled out one of those club-style cards with my email address. Sometimes I get pretty good deals this way, discounts, free birthday stuff, etc. It just seemed funny to me that all four of these places want to feed me today and all four invitations ended up one after the other in my inbox.
Following Jesus’ resurrection, Simon Peter woke up one morning and decides to go fishing. Several other disciples go with him, Thomas, Nathanael, James and John along with two others. They head out to the lake but don’t catch anything. That is until Jesus arrives on the scene. He tells them where to throw their net and immediately there is a great catch of fish. Peter, who realizes this has happened before, suddenly recognizes Jesus and bounds to shore. They all end up having a nice breakfast together.
When they finished eating Jesus turns to Peter and asks, “Simon son of John, do you truly love me more than these?“
Peter’s response to that is “Yes,” he does love the Lord. Then Jesus says, “Feed my lambs.“ [John 21:15]
Three times Jesus will ask the same question, Peter will respond the same way, and Jesus will tell Peter three times to feed His lambs. That’s the job of a shepherd, not a fisherman. Jesus completely changed Peter’s life. (Jesus will do that to you!) I don’t think the Scriptures ever record again that the Big Fisherman went fishing. He devoted the rest of his life caring for the Lord’s sheep.
