Luke 5:4 Now when he had left speaking, he said unto Simon, Launch out into the deep, and let down your nets for a draught. 5 And Simon answering said unto him, Master, we have toiled all the night, and have taken nothing: nevertheless at thy word I will let down the net. 6 And when they had this done, they inclosed a great multitude of fishes: and their net brake.
The experience related in the above passage took place after the disciples, who were well experienced fishermen, had toiled all night and had caught nothing. These men were familiar with and accustomed to the conditions favorable for catching fish, and after a night of diligent toil, they had decided that it was futile for them to expend any more energy in their endeavors, for the time when fishing expeditions are most successful had long passed. And because of these known facts, the command of Jesus to launch out into the deep, to go fishing again in broad daylight, after they had already washed their nets, seemed illogical in the mind of Peter, who then voiced his opinion to the contrary.
But what is most important in our relationship with God is a willing attitude to obey whatsoever He commands us, whether it makes sense to us or not. Furthermore, it is not even necessary for God to give us logical explanations as to why He has commanded us to do certain things, before we obey. On the contrary, the explanations often come in the process of obedience, and in the experience of Peter and the disciples who were with him, the results of following the plain and simple command of Christ payed off big dividends, as evidenced by the tremendous amounts of fish that willingly came from no where, and eagerly lodged themselves in the nets of the fishermen, and remained there with no desire or effort to escape their fate. Let's read:
Luke 5:6 And when they had this done, they inclosed a great multitude of fishes: and their net brake. 7 And they beckoned unto their partners, which were in the other ship, that they should come and help them. And they came, and filled both the ships, so that they began to sink.
This experience of Peter and the other disciples have lessons of very great import for us as we travel the straight and narrow pathway. There are many things written in the word of God, that come with no logical explanations, yet The Lord bids us to do and follow His instructions, even though we may be at a loss to understand why He has given such and such a command. One such command that He has given pertains to obtaining an entrance into His kingdom of grace. In His discourse with Nicodemus, Christ stated explicitly that no one could enter the kingdom of God except we be born of water and of The Spirit. But no one knows for sure how a person is actually born again into a new creature, simply by being immersed in water, and therefore like Peter and the other disciples in Christ day, we will simply have to follow the instructions in order to be saved, and we will indeed be saved, if we obey God's voice. Let's read:
Mark 16:15 And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature. 16 He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned.
At the end of life's journey, when all the chips are tallied, and the sheep who will be saved, and the goats who will be lost are forever separated from one another, it will be found that millions have lost out on eternity just because they refused to follow that simple instruction to take a brief dip in the water. On the outskirts of the New Jerusalem, with Bin laden, Nero and Hitler, there will be found some pretty "Good people" who paid all their bills on time, and who were law abiding citizens on earth, who worked hard for their daily bread, and who never robbed a bank, but who refused to follow Christ's simple instruction of being immersed in the water so that their sins could be washed away.
And as they look on the youthful faces of friends, family and coworkers, who were apparently not as "Good" as they were, but who by faith followed God's simple instruction, they will shudder and wonder in consternation that the disregard of such a simple, but seemingly illogical command could warrant them exclusion from the eternal abode of bliss.
In our day, and in our own experiences, there may be some simple instruction from God that we may be deliberately avoiding because we think it is not that important or relevant to us, and because of our foregone conclusions, we do everything else that is right, except that one simple command that we keep evading. It is never good to disobey the commands of God , whether it be in little or big things for we never know what the result of disregarding one instruction may be. Lot's wife is lost eternally, not because of adultery or cheating on her taxes. She paid all her bills on time and had an excellent credit rating, but she failed to follow a simple instruction from the angels of God, and she is lost forever for just turning her head in the wrong direction.
We therefore end with a passage of scripture which teaches us the sacred truth of the need to cultivate a willing and obedient spirit, for our eternal destiny hangs on our disposition to obey God in everything, even when there are no logical explanations for doing so. Let's read:
Hebrews 10:36 For ye have need of patience, that, after ye have done the will of God, ye might receive the promise. 38 Now the just shall live by faith: but if any man draw back, my soul shall have no pleasure in him.
May God add His blessing to the study and practice of His word. "Good night" and God bless!