Let Jesus In 

   “He got into one of the boats – it was Simon’s – and asked him to put out a little way from the shore.  Then he sat down and taught the crowds from the boat.” (Luke 5: 3) 

   I can’t help but wonder what Simon Peter thought when Jesus stepped into his boat.  That boat was Simon’s life, it was how he made a living and provided for his family.  And here was a stranger just walking on board and even asking him to put out away from the shore.

   And yet, Jesus comes to us at times in the same way.  Unexpectedly He will come and call us, asking us to allow Him to enter our “boat”.  He wants to be with us, to share our life and all that is in it.  Sadly, in today’s world more and more people are turning Him away, rejecting Him, refusing to let Him come into their life.

   “When he had finished teaching he said to Simon, ‘Put out into deep water and pay out your nets for a catch.'” (Luke 5: 4).  Not only did Jesus enter Peter’s boat but now He begins to issue orders.  Peter was a fisherman by profession, he knew that this was not the right time to be going to sea hoping for a catch.  Still, he did as Jesus asked.

   Sometimes Jesus asks us to do things or go places that make no sense to us, things we “know” aren’t right.  It takes faith and courage to say, as Peter did, “…if you say so, I will pay out the nets.” (Luke 5: 5).  We can say no and ignore Jesus’ requests to us, or we can accept that He knows best and obey.

   If we accept, if we agree to follow Him where He leads even when we don’t understand, we will be richly rewarded.  By consenting to Jesus’ request, Peter was rewarded with a miraculous catch of fish.  We, by saying yes to Jesus, can receive so much more.  We can receive eternal life in God's heavenly kingdom.