peace . love . joy

'Then the disciple whom Jesus loved said to Peter, "It is the Lord!" As soon as Simon Peter heard him say , "It is the Lord," he wrapped his outer garment around him (for he had taken it off) and jumped into the water.'

~ John 21:7

"It is the Lord!" That is all Peter needed to hear. Those four monosyllabic words. "It is the Lord!" And he believed it.

He didn't call out to the figure on the shore, asking the man to bid him come to him by walking on the water as he did Jesus few years ago. No. At the sound of those words from John, Peter threw on his outer garment and rushed to be at the Lord's side the fastest, and perhaps only, way he knew how: he swam.

Bear in mind this was early in the morning still, and the water's probably, most definitely, cold. But Peter just swam those chilly choppy hundred yards or so just to be by his risen Lord's side once more. One might venture that that was all that was on his mind then: "I've got to get to Jesus. Now." That's probably not too far off.

The desperation and urgency and excitement to be by Jesus' side is evident in Simon Peter's response. You might've thought Peter, of all the disciples, would jump out of the boat and start swimming the other way; away from Jesus on the shore, considering that it was he who betrayed Jesus thrice before the rooster crowed, considering it was to him who Jesus directed that intense gaze after the betrayal. But no! Impulsive, fiery, passionate, broken Peter dove headlong into the cold waters of the sea and swam, fastest he could, burst out of the water, soaking and dripping wet, jogging stupidly towards Jesus, probably splashing Him a little too. He ran straight to the One whom he thrice betrayed.

I think Peter, like Judas, was numb with grief and misery at what he did; Peter with his denials of ever even knowing the Christ, and Judas with his transaction of his Rabbi with thirty silver coins. But here is where the similarities end. Peter, unlike Judas, knew what was in store for him by the stranger on the shore. Peter, unlike Judas, knew at least a bit about the Lord and His ways. Peter, unlike Judas, knew forgiveness incarnate was standing there waiting for him.

Whatever sins you have committed in your life; the things that you did that hurt the Lord, and, the things you did not do that would otherwise please the Lord, know that Jesus, your Lord and Savior, is forgiveness embodied.

What's stopping you from rushing to Him who stands on the shores of Life?
What's stopping you from running into His arms, sobbing like an idiot?

Pride?
Disbelief?

Jesus promises us forgiveness. Jesus is it: His sole purpose to come and die betrays His forgiving and loving nature.
So easy, huh? Just come and say you're sorry and really want to be forgiven so bad you could burst..

How do you respond to that: ready forgiveness?

'But when the day was now breaking, Jesus stood on the beach; yet the disciples did not know it was Jesus...Then the disciple whom Jesus loved said to Peter, "It is the Lord!"'

~ John 21: 4,7

Jesus appears to them under the same conditions and situations when He first called them.

Though at first they did not recognise Him (perhaps it was the soft but piercing flickers of the first sun rays on the constantly rippling waters of the sea that blurred their vision, or perhaps they were just too emotionally drained to look again at the figure on the shore), they did just 3 verses of Jesus' enquiry & instruction later.

What about you?

What if you were there, 2000 or so years ago, on a simple wooden fisherman's boat, riding the lapping waves. A slight sea breeze ruffles your hair, the brilliant sun rises in the East, but all these you barely notice for the one whom you thought would save all, the one whom you had shared a room with, a meal with, a walk with, had died on the Cross on Golgotha.

Suddenly a lone figure on the shore about a hundred yards away calls out, "Friends, haven't you any fish?"

You realise you are not alone out there. There is someone on the shore watching you and initiating contact with you.

Do you realise that that someone who is calling out to you is Jesus?

Do you realise that He is there, closer than you think, now, every moment of your life watching you? Listening to you? Seeing your thoughts?

Does that mean anything to you?

God's eyes are always trained on you.

But it's up to you how you'd respond to that.

'After these things Jesus manifested Himself again to the disciples at the Sea of Tiberias, and He manifested Himself in this way. Simon Peter, and Thomas called Didymus, and Nathanael of Cana in Galilee, and the sons of Zebedee, and two others of His disciples were together. Simon Peter said to them, "I am going fishing." They said to him, "We will also come with you." They went out and got into the boat; and that night they caught nothing.'
~ John 21:1-3

Three years ago, Jesus appeared to Simon Peter, his brother Andrew, and the sons of Zebedee, James and John, on the shores of the Sea of Galilee. "Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men", said He. And the Bible says immediately, they left their nets, their boats, their father, and followed Him. They left everything the world tells them they need in order to physically live at the instruction of a stranger they have never set eyes upon and followed Him.

Embarking on a journey none would have dreamt of in their wildest imaginations, they touched Jesus, heard Jesus, ate with Jesus, conversed with Jesus, walked with Jesus, the one they called the Messiah, the one they called the Son of David, the one they called Emmanuel. They've witnessed countless miracles, far more than the number recorded the the Bible, they've witnessed countless conversions to the faith, they've witnessed countless powerful yet gentle, mind-boggling yet simple exhortations and lessons and parables of the Truth. They've even fought over who's to sit at Jesus' right hand!

And yet three years later, at the death of their Rabbi, Simon Peter says "I'm going out to fish." Their nets were once more empty. One cannot help but imagine how it is a reflection of their hearts and souls. Empty. As though the past three years living with the Christ had never happened. Here they were, in a wooden boat riding stagnant on the calm waves of a sea, attempting to fish, but in vain. Back to where they started.

What is your life like, Christian?

Are you back to where you've started as though those moments, seconds, minutes, hours, days, weeks, months, years with Jehovah-Eloheenu, the Lord our God, had never happened?

Where are you?