“When he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, “Put out into the deep water and let down your nets for a catch.” Simon answered, “Master, we have worked all night long but have caught nothing. Yet if you say so, I will let down the nets.” When they had done this, they caught so many fish that their nets were beginning to break. So they signaled their partners in the other boat to come and help them. And they came and filled both boats, so that they began to sink. But when Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus’ knees, saying, “depart from me, Lord, for I am a sinful man!”” Luke 5:4-8
We just read the beginning of Peter’s story, the open words of his call. When Peter was what Jesus had done by filling his nets to breaking with such a catch that it threatened to sink his boat, he realized Whom Jesus is. At that moment, as they pull the catch onboard, I picture Peter glancing over to Jesus, he see Jesus with His eyes lifted to Heaven giving thanks to the Father. Then, Jesus lowers His eyes and meet Peter’s gaze. Peter knows he is in the Holy Presence of the Messiah.
And, like Moses centuries earlier, Peter realizes he is upon holy ground at the feet of Jesus and falls to his knees. In that instant, he knows his sinfulness and unworthiness to even be in Jesus’ presence let alone standing before Him. And, he cries out, “depart from me, Lord, for I am a sinful man!”
I remember that moment when Jesus called me. I had the same reaction. The instant Jesus’ gaze fell upon me, I knew Who He was and I declared, “Lord, I am unworthy, depart from me. If You knew what I’ve done…”. And, my tears of shame flowed.
Then Jesus said to Simon, “Do not be afraid; from now on you will be a fisher of men.” Luke 5:10
My response through the tears was to bury my face in shame. He called my name, saying, I do know the words that rang into my soul. “My son, do not be afraid.” At those words, I raised my face. My eyes fell upon the Holy Eyes of Jesus and I was reborn. My response was simple, “Lord, anything about ask of me, I will do.”
I can’t say that He told me that evening that I would be a “fisher of men”. No, His response to my exclamation was simple, “follow Me.” I’ve never looked back.
Despite that momentous event in my life, I could never understand how Jesus’ disciples could drop everything and follow Him so easily. Not until an evening 15 years later while writing “I knew His Voice”. That night while writing my book, I came to the section after the second time Jesus visited my daughter. I typed out the story, then sat back in recollection of the moment.
It was a few days after Jesus had visited my daughter, spending a good part of the day with her. She was looking at her laptop. I asked what she was doing. She replied, “I’m trying to find His Face, dad.” She hadn’t seen His face except in silhouette the first time so, I was suddenly excited that she had this time. I short whole later, I looked over her shoulder at the face of the man she said was Jesus. I had never seen this image before. I asked, “is that Him?”. She replied, “yes, but, His eyes aren’t quite right. His are are so beautiful, much deeper in real life.” I had never seen that image before but, will never forget my first gaze upon the “Prince of Peace”.
That night in front of my laptop it hit me. It’s His eyes. When one looks into the Holy Eyes of Jesus, you are seeing the Divine. They say the eyes are the windows of the soul – imagine what you see looking into His eyes.
I gazed “into His eyes” that evening and He called to my soul. And, like John in His mother’s womb and Peter on that beach, my soul leapt with joy.
Has Jesus called out to you? Has He asked you to trust Him and ‘put out into the deep”? Have you taken time to look into the Holy Eyes of Jesus?
When He says to you, “follow me”, how will you respond?
You can purchase my book, for yourself and a friend on Amazon (see link in the catalog of my website homepage at www.theroadoffaith.net) – “I knew His Voice”. “I knew His Voice” is the true story of a miraculous year in my Road of Faith.