John 21:11 Simon Peter went up and drew the net to land, full of large fish, a hundred and fifty-three; and although there were so many, the net was not torn.
It seems that Peter was still in the water and hadn’t yet come on the land because John said that he “went up and drew the net to the land.” Had he been on the beach he would have “gone down.” John thought it was important to note that there were so many fish, 153 to be exact, that the net was not torn. Someone had to have counted them, perhaps John or whoever the accountant was for the disciples. The encouragement to me is that those nets were important to Jesus’ friends, and He, who holds all things together held the net together as Peter drug it ashore so full of flapping fish. Let’s be amazed at this Jesus, the Son of God, the creator and sustainer of the universe.
The apostle Paul described Him this way, Col. 1:15-17 “He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. For by Him all things were created, both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities — all things have been created through Him and for Him. He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together.”
Today, let us be encouraged by this great reality of who Jesus is. He loves us and cares for the things that are important to us, like He cared for the net which belonged to one of the disciples. He created us for Himself. We exist for God and we exist through Jesus’ purpose, love, and care. As we co-labor with Him, may we trust Him with everything in our lives. This glorifies Him. It’s our way of saying to Him that we know He loves and cares for us. Notice how Peter obeyed Jesus’ directive. It was hard work, I’m sure. We can be sure that he was careful with his net, not to break it. We can trust Him as we work carefully to obey Him and do as He directs us today. That confidence is an important aspect of living to love with Jesus. He will take care of the important things to us.
Acknowledgment: Music from “Carried by the Father” by Eric Terlizzi. www.ericterlizzi.com
