You Want Me To Do What?
CBMC's purpose and mission can be described as, "Reaching a man right where he is and helping him to become the man God designed him to be." The beginning of the process is for a man to discover God's design for the man. My observation is that many men have some wrong ideas of the design and goals God has for us. This week's devotional from Os Hillman helps to clarify what God's design and desire genuinely is.
Ernie
You Want Me To Do What?
By Os Hillman
"...Throw your net on the right side of the boat and you will find some."
(John 21:6a)
The disciples were fishing. It was after Jesus had been crucified. Peter had gone through his most agonizing moment in which he had denied Jesus three times. He had lost a friend. No doubt he probably wondered whether the last three years were a dream. What now?
Peter had been prepared three years, but he was not going out to preach; he was going fishing. He had returned to his trade of days gone by. He had a level of experience with Jesus that no other human on earth can boast. This was the third encounter he was about to have with Jesus after His resurrection. Jesus looked to Peter and John in their boat and made a suggestion.
"Friends, haven't you any fish?"
"No," they answered.
He said, "Throw your net on the right side of the boat and you will find some." Now, if you are as seasoned in your fishing as these guys were, wouldn't you be a bit irritated if a stranger suggested that you simply put your nets over the other side to catch some fish? Yet we find that they took this stranger's advice. Once they were obedient, the Lord revealed Himself.
When they followed Jesus' advice, the catch was enormous - 153 fish in total. In most cases, such a haul would have broken the net. Jesus invited them to have breakfast with Him - fish and bread; He had already started the fire. I can only imagine that this scene would resemble some buddies going out and camping together.
There is so much that we are to learn in this passage about God's ways. As a person in the workplace, we must understand that after we have spent years with Jesus, this does not always mean we must leave our professions in order to fully follow Jesus. Peter went back to his profession - fishing. It was here that Jesus asked him a simple question: Do you love Me and will you feed My sheep? He didn't say to Peter, "Fishing is a waste of time for you now, Peter." This recommissioning was in the area of his original calling - his work.
We need not feel that we must go to the "mission field" to please Jesus. Our work is our mission field. We must, however, make a paradigm shift in our thinking about our place in the work world. We must have an overriding sense of mission and ministry that comes out of that business. This is what is meant when we say that we must all be circumcised before we can enter the Promised Land. When this happens, we can expect to see God fill the nets with His blessings. He wants to do this because He now owns the net, and He can trust us to manage it.
Rick Warren is author of the New York Times bestseller The Purpose Driven Life and The Purpose Driven Church, which was named one of the 100 Christian books that changed the 20th Century.
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A WORK PRAYER
Lord, Your principles are true regardless of my work position. Please exert Your Lordship over my work activities. Work in my thinking and understanding, conforming me to Your ways, so that an overriding sense of mission and ministry arises in my work life to give it direction. Amen.
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
1. "Once they were obedient, the Lord revealed Himself." Reflect on the idea that obedience to God at work could be a way of encountering Him in a new way.
2. Why are "traditional" mission fields not necessarily where Jesus wants us to be?
3. Where could God be calling you to "throw your net" today?
This WorkLife SwitchTOOL was written by Os Hillman, founder of Marketplace Leaders (marketplaceleaders.org). Used by permission. All rights reserved. Content edited and distributed by WorkLife.org for non-profit educational purposes.
This weekly devotional is available by email from CBMC New England. You can join the mailing list by emailing: newengland@cbmc.com