Where the Opportunities Are Found
(Posted February 23, 2019)
All successful people learn that success is buried on the other side of frustration. -- Tony Robbins
Do you remember the last time that you were so frustrated, so discouraged about the ways things were working out for you, that you had pretty much given up? Perhaps it was a job search, or a lack of funds or resources. Despite all your efforts, nothing was turning up the way you expected. After all, even though we know it’s not always true, we humans like to believe that life will be fair, if we just put in the effort.
All Are Welcome
Services begin at 10 a.m.
That is precisely where we find Jesus this Sunday, on the shores of Lake Gennesaret, standing alongside a tired, ragtag group of fisherman. They’ve been out all night, dragging their nets, and for their efforts they’ve barely come up with enough fish to make a sushi plate. Peter is there, washing his nets when Jesus approaches, a perfect stranger, and tells him and the other men to set out on the lake again, this time farther offshore, to the deep water. And Peter responds in the way we might remember we may have during previous frustrations, by say, “You’ve GOT to be kidding me!” And yet something told Peter to say “yes” to this stranger’s request. When they cast their nets in the water this time, they caught so many fish the lines almost broke on the nets. The very boat they were on was in danger of sinking. A panicky Peter begged Jesus to leave him alone, but Jesus assured him, that from this point on he will be catching people.
And that’s the thing. Whenever our reservoirs of trust and energy are running low, Jesus asks us “to go deep” – to go out beyond our comfort level, to where both the dark waters and the opportunities are to be found. Like a star quarterback, Jesus asks us to run deep down the field, so that we are in position to receive what he sends us. It may seem counterintuitive at the time, but nothing new will be gained if we only ventured to the same boundaries we have never gone beyond.
This Sunday our children will be “fishing for people,” receiving the names not only of our homebound but people we haven’t seen in church for a while, and sending them a loving note to let them know they are not forgotten, but a part of our lives as a congregation. I hope you’ll join us as we celebrate “going deep” for Jesus. --- Pastor Pat Kriss