Luke 5:1-11
5: On one occasion, while the crowd was pressing in on him to hear the word of God, he was standing by the lake of Gennesaret, 2 and he saw two boats by the lake, but the fishermen had gone out of them and were washing their nets. 3 Getting into one of the boats, which was Simon's, he asked him to put out a little from the land. And he sat down and taught the people from the boat. 4 And when he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, “Put out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch.” 5 And Simon answered, “Master, we toiled all night and took nothing! But at your word I will let down the nets.” 6 And when they had done this, they enclosed a large number of fish, and their nets were breaking. 7 They signaled to their partners in the other boat to come and help them. And they came and filled both the boats, so that they began to sink. 8 But when Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus' knees, saying, “Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord.” 9 For he and all who were with him were astonished at the catch of fish that they had taken, 10 and so also were James and John, sons of Zebedee, who were partners with Simon. And Jesus said to Simon, “Do not be afraid; from now on you will be catching men.” 11 And when they had brought their boats to land, they left everything and followed him.
Reflection
In this beautiful and powerful story we see Jesus use a physical miracle (the catch of fish) to bring about a spiritual one (the change in Peter). This story illustrates two important components of receiving the gospel. First, like Peter, we must see ourselves clearly—as sinful and broken before the holy God (Luke 5:8). But if this is all we see, it will result in despair. Therefore we must also see that Jesus is gracious and forgiving, and is inviting us to follow him (v. 10).
This story invites us to daily apply the gospel to our lives in the same way. We should ask God to help us understand our own sinful hearts and open our eyes to see how great and gracious he truly is (Isa. 6:1–13; Eph. 3:14–19). This will enable us to follow him and proclaim his greatness to others.
Ephesians 3:14-19
14 For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, 15 from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named, 16 that according to the riches of his glory he may grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in your inner being, 17 so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith—that you, being rooted and grounded in love, 18 may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, 19 and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.
Reflection
In Paul’s second prayer for the Ephesians (cf. Eph. 1:15–19), he asks the Father for power through the Spirit so that Christ may dwell in their hearts through faith. This is one of the epistle’s many references to the Trinity—the Bible’s teaching that the one true God has eternally existed in three distinct persons (cf. 1:13–14; 2:18, 20–22: 3:14–17; 4:4–6; 5:18–20; 6:10–18). Our lives would be richer if the doctrine of the Trinity did more to inform our prayers, our praise, and our Christian practice. We are saved from first to last by the triune God —the Father planning salvation, the Son accomplishing salvation, and the Spirit applying salvation.
Paul’s main request in this prayer is for Spirit-given strength in our inner being (3:16). The specific nature of this strength is the ability to understand the unfathomable love of Christ (vv. 18–19). Our maturity grows as this love is formed in our hearts. We will not live as God’s holy ones until we know that we are his beloved ones. We will not treat our neighbors with mercy until we recognize Christ’s mercy toward us. We do not know anything about Christianity until we know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge (v. 19).
Psalm 25:7
7 Remember not the sins of my youth or my transgressions; according to your steadfast love remember me, for the sake of your goodness, O Lord!
Continue to strengthen your ability to love and follow Christ by regularly thinking about and praising God for his love for you in Christ. He has washed away your sin and will safely bring you home according to his steadfast love.