From Fishing to Following

So a couple of weeks ago I finished reading the book Searching For God Knows What for the second time. It is one of my favorite books and probably my favorite by Don Miller. The way he explains the desired relationship between man and God is incredible to me. He makes it easy to understand in my opinion is probably what it is, but still.

Anyway, in the book he tells about a conversation that the had with a friend of his one day. They were talking about the passage at the end of John where Jesus is walking on the beach with Peter and asks him three times if he loves Him. Peter responds with a yes each time of course. The first time that Jesus asks, he phrases it like this: "Simon son of John, do you love me more than these?" Miller's friend raises a question to think about here. What if Jesus was talking about the fish?

That is after all what Peter and the others had been involved in doing right before this. They were out fishing. This is completely understandable for them. Here they are a bit discouraged and at a loss as to what to do next, and so they do that which they know: they go fishing. Basically they go back to the routine of their lives before Jesus called them to follow him. So what if the "these" that Jesus mentions is the fish, and the boats and the nets and the work? What if that is what Jesus is asking Peter about?

Here is the thing: in our faith, Jesus is calling us to step out of our comfort zone. That is where Peter had gone back to. He went back to what he knew before rather than going on with the call. I'm not blaming Peter or anything like that. In fact I understand why he did it. He was confused and didn't know what else to do. He did what he knew.

And that is where Jesus found him and called him from. Doesn't that seem to be the way it is for us? We go to the things we know, the things that are familiar and there Jesus finds us and calls us out of it and into something greater. It's to fall back on what is comfortable and familiar at times. What is important is that we be willing to leave it behind when Jesus calls us to follow Him. That is where we put this faith of ours into action. Peace and Love y'all.