After these things Jesus showed Himself again to the disciples at the Sea of Tiberias, and in this way He showed Himself: Simon Peter, Thomas called the Twin, Nathanael of Cana in Galilee, the sons of Zebedee, and two others of His disciples were together. Simon Peter said to them, "I am going fishing." They said to him, "We are going with you also." They went out and immediately got into the boat, and that night they caught nothing. But when the morning had now come, Jesus stood on the shore; yet the disciples did not know that it was Jesus. Then Jesus said to them, "Children, have you any food?" They answered Him, "No." And He said to them, "Cast the net on the right side of the boat, and you will find some." So they cast, and now they were not able to draw it in because of the multitude of fish.
John 21:1-6
The Lord loves us so much that He comes to us and reveals Himself to us, no matter where we are. Peter and the disciples went fishing. As we wrote previously, we cannot be certain why they went fishing. Nevertheless, even when the disciples were not in Jerusalem, where the Holy Spirit came upon them at Pentecost, Jesus went to them. How many times has the Lord graciously come after us that He might reveal Himself to us?
The Lord loves us so much that He comes to us and reveals Himself to us, even when we our lives appear to be unproductive. When the disciples were clearly unproductive, the Lord came to them and revealed Himself to them. When we are likewise unproductive, let us not think the pathway to productivity is found in trying harder. Let us instead call out to the Lord. Let us keep an eye out for Him, because He is not hiding Himself from us!
The Lord loves us so much that He comes to us and reveals Himself to us, reminding us that following Him is the only way to be truly productive. The disciples fished all night and caught nothing. Some have speculated that they caught nothing because they weren’t supposed to be there, as a lesson on the futility of going back to our previous pursuits. (Remember, some of them were fishermen before they “left their nets to follow Jesus.” Matthew 4:20) Whether that speculation is inaccurate or not, I cannot say. What we can say is that regardless of why they caught nothing after fishing all night, when Jesus came to them with instructions, they were immediately productive. How many times have we balked at or even ignored the Lord’s instruction (from His Word)? Oh, that we would trust and obey—and watch as He makes our lives productive!
Truly, the Lord loves us so much!