Contemplative Bible Reading

Luke 5:11 (New Living Translation)

11 And as soon as they (Peter, James, and John) landed, they left everything and followed Jesus.

Peter and his partners, James and his brother John, were commercial fishermen. They fished in a great lake and sold their fish in the markets. This was a business. This was a livelihood. This wasn’t going out on the weekend in a bass boat for fun.

Jesus performed a miracle that allowed them to catch a boat-full of fish. This was a big payday! Peter, James, and John walked away from everything and followed Jesus.

First, they abandoned their business. Gone, forgotten, bye bye. Second, they abandoned a boatload of fish. They could have taken the fish to market, sold the fish, put money in their pockets, and then followed Jesus. That would have made sense.

Nope, they walked away from a boatload of money. They walked away from all the capital investment in boats, line, nets, bait, and everything else.

Can you imagine what their parents said when they learned of this folly? Can you imagine what their fellow commercial fishermen said? Oh, by the way, what did those standing around at the time do with that boatload of fish? Hmm?

That was faith: belief and action. Please God, help me in my unbelief and lack of faith.