Be Not Afraid

Have you ever seen someone so good it made you feel bad by comparison? In this story, Peter witnesses a miracle. A fisherman by trade, Peter had fished all night and caught nothing. In the morning, when he got back to shore, Jesus got into his boat and taught a crowd gathered on the shore for a while. After he was done, he told Peter, who was surely tired after a sleepless night, to put out into the deep and let down his nets. Peter's first response was probably one of annoyance.

“Master, we worked all night and didn't catch anything!" he said. Maybe Jesus just stared at him for a minute. 

"But," Peter continued, "if you insist, Lord, I'll throw out the net again." 

Of course, he ends up catching so many fish that he has to call over another boat. And then they catch so many together that both boats begin to sink. 

Luke says that this incident caused Peter to see a lot more than the fish.

"Depart from me," he told Jesus. "Lord, I'm a sinner." Somehow, this miracle opened his eyes to Jesus' true nature. His awareness of Jesus' holiness made him aware of his own sinfulness.

I've never seen Jesus, but I have had this experience several times with his people.

The innocence of some believers convicts me of my hard-heartedness. 

The faithfulness of some believers makes me aware of how inconsistent I am. 

The deep joy of some believers exposes the shallowness of my walk with God.

The confidence of some believers' prayers puts my tepid prayers to shame.

The love some believers radiate makes the lovelessness in my own heart obvious.

The way Jesus answers Peter gives me hope, though.

"And Jesus said to Simon, 'Do not be afraid; from now on you will be catching men.'" (Luke 5:10) 

Notice both what Jesus says and what he doesn't say. 

Jesus doesn't tell him, "Come on, man, you're not so bad" or "You've got your good points too" or "Look how far you've already come." He doesn't say anything that contradicts Peter's self-assessment of being a sinful man.

What he does tell him is "Do not be afraid." Peter is correct that there is an infinite chasm between Jesus' holiness and his own sinfulness, but it has been bridged by grace. 

What's more, Jesus isn't content with just bridging the chasm to Peter. He will make Peter a bridge across the chasm between Jesus and others. Peter isn't just a lost soul who has been found. He's a found soul who's going to get to go fishing. 

Just as Jesus has given Peter more fish than he knew what to do with, he's also going to give Peter more new believers than he knows what to do with. There will be so many that he will need help from the other disciples. He will help pull many, many lost souls into the kingdom of God. And it won't be because he's good enough. It will be because he has faith. "If you insist, Lord, I'll throw out the net again."

In the moments when we feel inadequate, I don't think the Lord would contradict that sense of inadequacy. I think he would simply tell us not to be afraid. Don't be afraid of the Lord. He loves you. Don't be afraid of your sins disqualifying you. They're forgiven. Don't be afraid of not being able to do the job he's given you. You can't do it in your strength, but he can do it through you in his.