We have phrases we use to describe when someone or something is not working as expected. We say something is off the rails when things are going wrong, or if someone gets distracted, we say they got sidetracked. This phrase comes from the railroad industry. A train becoming derailed is a huge problem. A sidetrack is less of a problem. It is a section of tracks where cars are moved to rearrange the train or store them out of the way. The cars stored on the side track are not intended to stay there forever and will eventually need to be moved back onto the main tracks to become functional again. When applied to non-railroad situations, we can find ourselves sidetracked by people or things in life that are not important. Our world is full of distractions. The enemy knows this and will use every opportunity to put things in our way to sidetrack us. These distractions are not necessarily sinful in and of themselves, but they prevent us from fulfilling God's purpose. If we look around and see we are off course, we must change direction to get back on course.
Our texts today were Jesus' first and last interactions with the disciples. They occurred in the same place, by the same body of water, and had similar events. In the first encounter, Jesus calls them from a career of fishing to make them fishers of men: to reach lost souls. In John 21, many things had occurred in the previous few days. The disciples have seen the last supper, the betrayal by Judas, Peter denying Jesus, the trial, crucifixion, death on the cross, the empty tomb, and Jesus manifesting himself to them after rising from the dead. The disciples are confused, scared, and unsure of what to do now. They decide to go fishing. They were exactly where they were when Jesus found them. Jesus had done all He said He would do, and now the disciples had to return to being fishers of men. Are you where you thought you would be? Are you where you want to be? What are you willing to do to get back on track? Are you ready to make a course correction?
