Luke 5: The Calling of the First Disciples

i was thinking recently, that whatever thing it is that i'm engaged in, i get bored with it quite fast. i guess it's the same with most people, if it's school, studies, work, or anything... anything that you have to do over and over, for the sake of doing. it depends mightily on a person's character, of course, but in general, as the novelty of something wears off, as the reasons for doing it seem less compelling, and as a person's drive and desire for doing something start to dissipate... it gets harder and harder for a wandering mind to convince practised fingers to daily resume a task at hand. and i was thinking hard about this lately.

Luke 5:

One day, as Jesus was standing by the Lake of Gennesaret, with the people crowding around him and listening to the word of God, he saw at the water's edge two boats, left there by the fishermen, who were washing their nets. He got into one of the boats, the one belonging to Simon, and asked him to put out a little from shore. Then he sat down and taught the people from the boat.

When he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, "Put out into deep water, and let down the nets for a catch."

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."

When they had done so, they caught such a large number of fish that their nets began to break. So they signalled 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 Simon Peter saw this, he fell at Jesus' knees and said, "Go away from me, Lord; I am a sinful man!" For he and all his companions were astonished at the catch of fish they had taken, and so were James and John, the sons of Zebedee, Simon's partners.

Then Jesus said to Simon, "Don't be afraid; from now on you will catch men." So they pulled their boats up on shore, left everything and followed him.

(end of Luke 5)

sometimes, it takes quite a bit of imagination to appreciate the finer itty-bitties of Bible stories. for example, Jesus might be a little curious as to why a handful of fishermen would be self-absorbed enough to ignore the crowd and the presence that he carried, not stopping what they were doing in spite of the unusual scene around them, enough so that he wanted to reach out to them. i imagine that it would be difficult to wash a large fishing net and still be within hearing distance of Jesus, granted as it were that Jesus would later go on to speak to thousands.

so Jesus went to some of them, and asked to be paddled out a small distance, to have a prettier platform to speak from. the poor guys on the boat then had to listen to whatever Jesus was teaching, probably while trimming the boat to counter any oratorical gestures Jesus might have made. they might have been a little embarrassed at the fixed gaze they received from Jesus' audience, or the smell of their boat, or their fishermen's appearance, but it's almost certain that they paid attention to Jesus' words, enough that they had a profound impact on them. this is wisdom, God's Word, and it was sitting next to them in their fishing boat, not all airs like the teachers of the law or the Pharisees. sure makes you think.

next thing you know, they'd become a little spellbound by the teachings of Jesus. repentance, salvation, promises, the Messiah, God's glory, all these grandiose things swelled in their spirits and minds. and then Jesus stopped, as he did, and cut right across the grain, telling the fishermen to go fish. Simon must have been pretty stunned, pretty flabbergasted, but with a marked show of respect, his answer as recorded in the Bible reads decently as, "Master, we've worked hard all night and haven't caught anything. But because you say so, I will let down the nets."

and this is the pivotal moment, when they're given a bounteous catch of fish, but also when they're given the all-important choice (choice being all-important) to follow Jesus. the ending verse summarises their decision a tad lightly, i think. they could take their catch and the small fortune to be made from it, and go back to fishing, praising God for their blessing, living honestly, humbly and happily, or they could recognise that the true blessing came from Jesus, of following him. and they would have to forsake everything, and follow him.

which would be wiser? which would be foolhardy? which would be compulsive? which would fulfil their needs better? which would be a better security, which would be a more responsible path to take in terms of providing for themselves and their family? which would be their life's calling? and were they ready to take such a decision?

i think that we can all faithfully await such a moment in our lives, with some awareness that when the time comes, it's ultimately a personal, spiritually-mature and self-convinced decision in faith. (additional comments are welcome.)

having said all that, back at the start, as i've mentioned, i've been thinking a lot about why i was still doing the things i didn't really want to be doing anymore. it was the same back in school, back in army, and now at work. it seems that now i have a choice, but before long i'll be back in school again, so... is my attitude supposed to change? i don't think it could.

Simon had been fishing all his life, maybe enough that he had all the time in the world to ponder such things, and to get... i dunno, mature enough to choose when the time came. maybe he also got sick of fishing... maybe he always sensed that there were better, higher things in life to devote himself to. maybe it's like Moses spending forty years in the desert. maybe it's a vital, vital, time.

2nd Corinthians 5:1-10:

Now we know that if the earthly tent we live in is destroyed, we have a building from God, an eternal house in heaven, not built by human hands. Meanwhile we groan, longing to be clothed with our heavenly dwelling, because when we are clothed, we will not be found naked. For while we are in this tent, we groan and are burdened, because we do not wish to be unclothed but to be clothed with our heavenly dwelling, so that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life. Now it is God who has made us for this very purpose and has given us the Spirit as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come.

Therefore we are always confident and know that as long as we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord. We live by faith, not by sight. We are confident, I say, and would prefer to be away from the body and at home with the Lord. So we make it our goal to please him, whether we are at home in the body or away from it. For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive what is due him for the things done while in the body, whether good or bad.