2 Samuel 19:11-20:13
John 21:1-25
Psalm 120:1-7
Proverbs 16:16-17
Peter must have been despondent. The cause, the person he'd given the last three years of his life to seemed to be gone - dead, and not even a body in a tomb to remember Him by. So he goes back to his old life, takes his nets and his boat out, and goes fishing - and even there, he can't seem to catch a break (or a fish, for that matter). And as he is heading back for shore, someone calls out to him and tells him to chuck his nets out on the right side of the boat, and he is blessed with an abundant catch, reminiscent of when he first met Jesus. So when John declares it is, in fact, Jesus standing at the shore, Peter is instantly certain of it, so much so he is unable to wait to get his boat and his catch to shore - he dives in and swims for Jesus. I wonder: as he stood there, with the 153 large fish and the net that surprisingly remained intact, whether or not he thought that was as good as it got. The Man, the Rabbi whom he had followed was back...and with Him His abundance, an abundance Peter recognized.
Little did he know. Not only was Jesus NOT done with him, but what Jesus had planned for him was unlikely to conform to any definition of abundance Peter may have had. For as we know, the path Jesus chose for Peter not only took him away from the water where he'd always made his living, but put him on course to suffer a death much like His - all for His, and HIs Father's, purposes. But the outcomes, for Peter and for all whom he touched, were of such an abundance I am confident Peter could never have imagined.
Anytime God gives me any form of abundance, I really should remember this. Until I am home with Him, He has so much more planned, to prosper me and not to harm me, but in ways He sees fit, based on His definition of abundance, however different that might be from mine; my role, like Peter's, will be to surrender. And when everything is said and done, I can be certain I will look back and say "little did I know...."
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