A Love That Cannot Be Contained

Lord, Your love is so big it cannot be contained. That's a mighty love! A love that we cannot comprehend. 

"So it was, as the multitude pressed about Him to hear the word of God, that He stood by the Lake of Gennesaret, and saw two boats standing by the lake; but the fishermen had gone from them and were washing their nets. Then He got into one of the boats, which was Simon's, and asked him to put out a little from the land. And He sat down and taught the multitudes from the boat. When He had stopped speaking, He said to Simon, "Launch out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch." But Simon answered and said to Him, "Master, we have toiled all night and caught nothing; nevertheless at Your word I will let down the net." And when they had done this, caught a great number of fish, and their net was breaking. So 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. When Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus' knees, saying, "Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord!" For he and all who were with him were astonished at the catch of fish which they had taken; and so also were James and John, the sons of Zebedee, who were partners with Simon. And Jesus said to Simon, "Do not be afraid. From now on you will catch men." So when they had brought their boats to land, they forsook all and followed Him."" Luke 5:1-11

My dad taught me to fish. I didn't just learn to fish. I loved to fish. My dad made fishing special. He shared his passion with me and together it was something special. Something bigger than me, bigger than life itself. As a little girl that's exactly how I felt. Nothing was impossible for my dad. 

As I'm now grown I know that it is my heavenly Father who does the impossible. Go back in time with me. See the fishermen there. A long night of fishing came up empty. The nets were cast, patience awaited, but nothing came. They were tired and I'm sure ready to head home, but there before them is Jesus. He sees an empty boat and steps inside. Now everything is about to change. I find this extraordinary. He didn't have to step into their boat. He could have simply stood at the shoreline, but he knew. He knew what would get their attention. 

These buddies, these partners are washing their nets. They catch a glimpse of Him inside their boat. Can you hear Jesus calling them over? I can see them pondering just who in the world got into their boat! Ah, there's Simon and Jesus happens to be in his boat. 

From the boat Jesus preaches to the crowd and from there He finishes and tells Simon to head out and let down the nets. If that were me and my dad I would have been telling him, "Dad, I have been fishing all night and I'm tired and wet and I just wanna go home. Can't you see I didn't catch a single fish? I know how to fish. There just aren't any." That's the thing with being young. You kind of think you already know everything. I had so much more to learn and here we see Jesus is about to teach these fishermen a whole new way to fish. 

So many fish their nets were breaking. Can you imagine? We limit our God so much. Don't we? I know I do. James and John were astonished at what they were seeing. Okay, today we might say that they were blown away at all the fish in the nets. I think Jesus just taught them a thing or two about how to fish. Just when we think we've got the lesson, He's there to teach more in depth. With Jesus there's always more to learn. 

In just this moment faith was born for these fishermen. They seen something far beyond what they could have ever imagined. What does it take for us? We expect so much from Jesus, but our problem is that we are unwilling to follow. We're unwilling to put in the work and listen to Him. We don't much like following direction, but look what happens when we obey and move where He calls us. The impossible happens and there before us a love that is so big that it cannot be contained. 

It takes courage to follow. It takes humility to learn. We must make the choice to live the passion that Jesus has instilled in us. These fishermen were growing a legacy. Their Father was teaching them life lessons. Lessons bigger than they could comprehend, but Jesus loved them so much He wasn't willing to just leave them as they were. He was about to grow a faith bigger than any catch these men could possibly dream about. 

Friends, don't be afraid to cast your nets. Don't fear the long, hard work ahead of you. Life isn't easy. It takes patience and love to cast out and wait. We believe with a mighty hope. Jesus isn't finished with His catch just yet. There's so much more to learn and so many more to reach.

What could a Carpenter teach these fishermen? {Everything}

Step out in faith and be ready for God to show you a mighty catch that will blow you away.