Luke 5:1-11
In order to earn a good grade in a class, you have to study a lot. Trust me. I have experience in this. I study. A LOT. Studying takes time and a lot of brain power. But in the end, all that time and effort is worth it.
In order to win first place in a race or win a game, it takes a lot of practice. Trust me. I also have experience in this. I used to be one of those crazy people that would get up at 5 in the morning to swim. This practice takes a lot of time as well and it's very physically demanding. But all that pain results in gains.
What I'm saying is that in order to get something good, you must make sacrifices. And that's exactly what Simon Peter, James, and John did to follow Jesus. When you succeed in things like academics and athletics, you have to give something up, and for these men to follow Jesus, "they left everything and followed him."
It's important for us to understand that you sometimes will have to give up something good to receive the Good. And that Good is God. And when you make those sacrifices, your life will be changed for the better and for good.
Making these sacrifices will be hard, but it will make it much easier to trust in God and invite Him to be a part of your life. Before Jesus spoke to the fishermen, they were not catching anything. They were really struggling, but Simon Peter accepted Jesus's help, inviting him to be a part of the job, and said "we have worked hard all night and have caught nothing, but at your command I will lower the nets."
Simon Peter trusted Jesus, obeyed his command, and let Jesus into his heart. From that, he went from catching nothing to catching so much fish that "the boats were in danger of sinking."
Now that illustrates the goodness that comes out of a life centered on Christ.
Before Jesus came into the picture, everything was going wrong. But once Jesus was able to step in, the resulting success was incredible. This drastic change won't happen immediately, but be patient and just let God. He'll give us signs everyday, and gentle nudges when we're failing to keep Him in the center of our hearts. Once we see the signs and act on those nudges, our lives will be changed for the better.
But we can't see those signs and act on those nudges without making those sacrifices and inviting God into your life. By doing so, He will be revealed to you and you will be filled with God's love. And when you're filled with His love, you will be able to use those God-given graces to share that love because "from now on you will be catching men."
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