Just a bunch of fish

Where would Christianity be today if.....

• God hadn't sent His son, Jesus, to save the world....
• and if, Jesus had stuck to carpentry instead of doing His ministry...
• and if, during His short ministry on earth He hadn't "come across" some fishermen at the sea of Galilea....
• and if, when there He preached to a huge crowd from Simon Peter's fishing boat....
• and if, Simon Peter and his fishing companions hadn't fished all night and caught nothing, but when Jesus told them to cast out their nets they caught more than they could handle....
• and if, then when they landed on shore Jesus hadn't said leave everything and come follow me
• and if, Simon Peter and the boys refused?

There might not have been 12 disciples to spread the word through ministry to grow Christianity.

But....Simon Peter and the boys didn't balk, didn't hesitate, didn't whine or fuss about having the biggest catch of fish they had ever had.  Instead, they left it all behind and followed Christ.  They saw what was at stake, and well.....after all, it was just a bunch of fish.

Fast forward to today.  How would we react if Jesus was to say to us "leave everything and follow me"?  Where might Christianity be in another 10, 100, even 1,000 years were we to refuse?  And, for that matter where might we spend our eternity?

Fish, in the story, probably means a bunch of things, and the same holds true today.  I believe that it means (because I know me:

• our stuff,
• our way of life,
• our comfort zone,
• our fear of being different,
• our doubt
• and the way we tend to think of ourselves as not good enough
• and more.

You know, God knows all about our fish.  And He doesn't dwell on that part of us.  What He sees is what we could be without those fish.....if only we were to leave it behind and follow Jesus.  After all, it's only a bunch of fish.