Optimist’s Roundtable

By Martha Sykes

Early in His ministry, Jesus was preaching on the shore of Lake Gennesaret. As the crowd was listening to Him, He noticed two empty boats that were standing by the water’s edge while the fishermen were cleaning their nets.

Jesus stepped into one of the boats and asked Simon, its owner, to push the boat out into the water so that He could sit in the boat and speak to the crowds. When He finished speaking, He asked Simon to put the boat out into the water and let the nets down for a catch.

At that time, Simon was a little tired and he told Jesus that they worked hard all night and hadn’t caught a thing. Then Simon said, “ because you say so, I will let down the nets“.

This time, the nets were so full that they were starting to tear. Then the gospel of Luke tells us that when Simon realized what had happened, he fell to his knees before Jesus and said, “Go away from me, Lord; I am a sinful man”.

This story is an example of showing us that Simon was not only made aware of his sinfulness but it also shows us how he experiences God‘s grace.

Up to this point Simon Peter probably thought he was doing pretty well. He owned a fishing boat so he was successful with that business. He had his work, his family, and his health. But on this day, he allowed Jesus, whom he was just getting to know pretty well, to use his boat as a platform to teach.

This is when he realized that Jesus really was someone special. And he became aware of his sinfulness and his dependence upon God.

Realizing how much each of us depends upon God every day is a big step in our faith. Seeing ourselves as we really are, and experiencing God’s grace is a call to a purposeful life.

This is what happened to Simon Peter on this day and it can happen to us. Jesus was calling Peter to a life of “ fishing for men” as He said to him. Not everyone is going to have that same kind of experience as Peter had, but each of us in our own way can have an experience of God that can transform our lives into something beautiful!

We can pray that God will help us in our daily lives to experience His amazing grace and power. We also need a sense of direction that will help us pattern our lives after Jesus. Then we can become the kind of people God has created us to be.