February 11, 2019

Luke 5:10 Then Jesus said to Simon, “Don’t be afraid; from now on you will fish for people.”

This Simon is Peter who later goes on to become one of the leaders in the church after Jesus rose from the dead. I don’t think Jesus had anything against fish or fishing. This is the end of a story in which Jesus directed Peter and his buddies in catching literally boatloads of fish. Jesus could have told them, “There, I’ve shown you how to catch lots of fish. Now use the proceeds to fund my ministry.” Or, “now that you have lots of fish use them to feed hungry people.” Either would have been noble endeavors. But instead he led Peter away from fishing (if you know Peter’s story, you know that he returned, or tried to return, to it). Jesus was concerned with fish and funding and feeding, but most of all he was concerned with the hearts of people and calling them back to the love of God and the love of each other. Peter had just learned how to fish Jesus’ way. Now he would learn how to fish for people. How might you go about fishing for people this week?