Devotionals

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The dawn was approaching, and the disciples were weary. After an entire night of fishing, their only reward was an empty net. They were ready now to give up and were turning their boat to the shore, when a voice called out them, “Children, you do not have any fish, do you?”

The eyes of every disciple were turned towards the beach, from whence the voice had come. Their vision was blurred from lack of sleep, and their muddled brains refused to recognize the figure which stood upon the shoreline.

After glancing at one another in silent question, one of them answered him, “No.”

They were then surprised to hear the man say, “Cast the net on the right-hand side of the boat and you will find a catch.”

Again, the disciples looked round at one another. They shrugged. What had they to lose? So they did it. When Simon Peter began to pull in the fishing net, he was unable to do it on his own. John set his hand to help, but they soon realized that this catch of fish was much too large to haul into their tiny boat.

Suddenly, as though a revelation had swept across his vision, John laughed, and said, “It is the Lord.”

Simon Peter turned towards the shore. The figure still stood on the beach , unmoving, watching the disciples as they carried out his orders. A stab of joy filled Peter’s heart and he flung himself into the sea in his impatience. His Lord was standing on the shore!

The other disciples followed the impetuous Peter, rejoicing as they came, and dragging their net behind them. The Lord was waiting for them, smiling in welcome.

As they alighted from the boat, Simon Peter, dripping wet and grinning from ear to ear, came and began to pull their fishing net onto the beach.

They laughed in wonder at the multitude of large, silvery fish which slipped and flopped about in the net. The disciples began to count. Ten, twenty, thirty, forty . . . All the way to one-hundred and fifty-three. And yet-their net was completely undamaged. There was no tear to speak of, though the fish were many, heavy, and large.

Jesus smiled on them. It was as though He were saying, “Well done.”

The disciples were not amazed for long, as they realized that this event was in accordance with all that Jesus had taught them. The command had been given and they had obeyed. Their own attempts had failed, but Christ had shown them the right way. When they had taken it, the blessing was abundant and the damage reduced to nothing. For His way was the way of freedom. His way was the way of abundant life.

A story based on John 21:1-11

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