Friday: jump into the water
When Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he put on his tunic (for he had stripped for work), jumped into the water and headed to shore.
The others stayed with the boat and pulled the loaded net to the shore,
for they were only about a hundred yards from shore.
V7b-8
It is difficult to not compare John and Peter’s response. Peter finds strength and jumps in swimming ‘about a hundred yards’ to shore, John finds hope and assurance in declaring ‘“It’s the Lord!” We need to remember that we all (including our children and young people) respond differently to Jesus, and maybe be less judgemental of how we see others respond.
Having said that, I always find this part of the story amusing, the concept of getting dressed and then jumping into the water is the total opposite of what we would do in our culture, and yet just look at the impact on Peter as he hears that it is Jesus who is on the beach.
He neglects his friends, he ignores the miracle of the fish in the net, he disregards his shared responsibility in bringing the net in to land, even the finance that they would all receive for selling the fish is secondary to being with Jesus. He is totally focussed on being with Him.
I wonder what impact this had on the other disciples (teenagers) in the boat. I wonder if they felt aggrieved that they had been left to do all the ‘hard work’, or did they feel ashamed that their response hadn’t been the same? Knowing Peter as they did, did they get cross at ‘Why is it Peter always gets away with ignoring his responsibility’, or were they just really, really happy for him?
So, I have two questions for myself (and you). Firstly, what is our response when we hear that Jesus is near? And secondly, are we aware of the teenagers in our lives (including church life) observing how we react to Jesus? They see our reactions; they hear our responses; they sometimes make assessments on our relationship with Jesus based on our actions…what do they see in us?
To do today:
Write down a list of the children and young people who ‘see’ you, (I’m sure God won’t mind if you write down “the boy who plays the drums at church”, but maybe next time you see the boy you could go and ask what his name is and update your list!!) and ask Him to help them see Jesus in you, in your words, and deeds.
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