Re:Verse reading–Luke 5:1-11 (day three)
“Go away from me, Lord; I am a sinful man!” Peter is convinced of his own sinful state because Jesus…is the better fisherman? Clearly there’s more going on here than a demonstration of superior net-casting techniques. The sense of the passage is that Peter has also been listening to Jesus’s teaching. And that teaching consisted of unalloyed, unmitigated, unprecedented good news. God’s compassion for people regardless of rank or station? Check. The eternal nature of life in God’s kingdom now open to all who will receive it? Check. News doesn’t get any better. Or does it? Jesus’s fishing instructions extend the concerns of the kingdom of God from spiritual realities by and by to material realities here and now. No longer is there religious life and regular life. There’s just life, and Jesus is trustworthy in all of it.
With Jesus, we have the quality of life. Life, by definition, is the sequence of physical and mental experiences that make up the existence of an individual. Spiritual life is a subset of a human life that separates human beings from animals and other God’s creations.
Jesus is good news. He brought hope and added spiritual values to our daily living. And by trusting and believing in Him, we can possess a meaningful mental experience that other God’s creatures don’t have the ability to enjoy. Life will be enriched with Jesus’s teaching and by following Jesus’ teaching, we can find peace, joy and happiness on our earthy life journey and be accepted to be with Jesus in Heaven (eternal life). So being with Jesus will give us both earthy and eternal life. That is our hope when we are with Jesus, In Him and With Him forever!
Jesus is good news and is our hope for achieving a good quality of life. A good quality of life, in my view, is achieved when we possess both physical and mental experiences with high satisfaction. Jesus’ presence in our hearts and minds surely add spiritual values and positive mental experience to our daily living.
God does not discriminate, is available and open to all who will turn to Him. He accepted all who came to Him and will welcome and accept all who want to be His children and want to live in His Kingdom. Jesus led a life of inclusion and compassion for those in need. Jesus used God’s model in building relationship during His Ministry. He is worthy for us to listen and to follow.
Life without spiritual experience is not a life that God created for human beings. Our life will be more fulfilled when it is enriched with both physical and spiritual foundation. Having Jesus in our daily lives will strengthen our spiritual foundation which may lead to stronger physical foundation.
We may find a correlation that strong spiritual Christian foundation may lead to strong physical foundation. I am convinced Jesus is the way, the truth and the life. I wonder if Peter was living today, would he change his statement by saying, “Come closer and closer to me and save me Lord, I am a sinful man.”
God through Jesus gave us a nondicriminatory model of loving and caring for people, we shall follow God’s model in building our relationship with one another and with others and will follow Jesus’ examples in our walk with God. May God bless and guide in our spiritual journey with Him.
Please also read commentary by Elisabeth Johnson. Great insights!
Luke 5:1-11 Commentary by Elisabeth Johnson – Working Preacher – Preaching This Week (Narrative)
https://www.workingpreacher.org/preaching.aspx?commentary_id=1560