Luke 5:1-11
“Depart from me, Lord, for I am a sinful man.” (Luke 5:8)
It can be easy to perceive the day-to-day events of life as unimportant and unworthy of the interest of others. Nevertheless, when I look at the people I care about most, it is sharing in the day-to-day things that often means the most to me.
It is no different with the Lord, as He desires to encounter us in the normal parts of life. Jesus steps into our lives as He stepped into Peter’s boat. While Peter was simply going about life he had an encounter that changed everything.
Nothing about this encounter was forced. It consisted of a series of invitations to follow Jesus and trust in Him. So too, Jesus seeks to encounter us in our everyday lives, and He constantly invites us into a relationship with Him.
As we see in this story, Peter’s trust and cooperation not only allowed him to experience the Lord tangibly, but also allowed Him to recognize how great the Lord is. Peter responded to the works of the Lord with the declaration, “Depart from me, Lord, for I am a sinful man.”
The greatness of Jesus and the encounter with Him revealed to Peter where He needed to grow as his life was contrasted with the Living God. Yet, notice that Jesus didn’t shame Him. Instead, He extended another invitation: “Do not be afraid.”
So too, Jesus, at every moment of our lives, is extending an invitation to us to draw closer to Him, to see what He is doing, and to live the lives we are called to live. All this stems from an encounter with Jesus, and we don’t have to wait for a booming voice in the sky; He is working in every moment of our lives.
Imagine what He can do if you accept the invitation to live each moment with Him, just as Peter accepted His invitation 2000 years ago.
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