And when they had brought their boats to land, they left everything and followed him. Luke 5:11
It took two large boats and their crews to haul in the nets filled with fish. The weight of the fish was so great that the boats barely made it back to the shore. Never in their lives had they pulled in such a catch of fish.
Peter might have looked at Jesus and said, “Lord, we could really use you in this business. If you became a partner in what we’re doing, then we would have the biggest fishing fleet the world has ever seen!” This is always the temptation: to view the awesome power of Jesus as something that is useful to us: “Think what we could do if we could harness the power of Jesus!”
But Peter and the others did not respond that way. “They left everything and followed him.” They left the catch of their lives on the shore. Zebedee, the father of James and John, would have taken the fish to the market, and the crew would have enjoyed the greatest bonus of their lives. But Peter, James, and John left the fish on the shore, and they followed Jesus.
Peter never got over his sense of awe at the holiness of Jesus, but as he followed Jesus, he discovered grace. He discovered what Jesus can do in the life of a flawed disciple. And if you follow Him as well, you will discover what He can do in the life of a flawed disciple.
What do you need to leave behind in order to discover what Jesus can do in your life?
